^  PRINCETON,  N.  J  "^^ 


BS  650  .H6  V.3 
Hodgman,  Stephen  Alexander 
1808-1887. 
sk.     Moses  and  the  philosophers 


MOSES 


AND 


THE    PHILOSOPHERS, 


INTHEEE  PAETS: 


THE  PHYSICAL  SYSTEM; 
THE  MORAL  PROBLEM; 
THE  MERCY  SEAT. 


THE    WHOLE    TOGETHER   GIVING  A    VIEW  OF   THE    UNIVERSE,  AS  WRIT- 
TEN BY  MOSES,    THE  SERVANT  OF  GOD. 


PART  THIRD. 

THE    MERCY   SEAT. 


BY 

STEPHEN  ALEXANDER  HODGMAN. 


SOLID.  B-Z"    STJBSCI^XI3TI035^. 
•     PHILADELPHIA: 

:■  1882. 


Copyriglit,  18S1,  by 

StKPJIKN     Al.KXANDER     IIODGMAN. 


FERQUSON    BROS.    &    CO.. 

PRINTERS    AND    ELECTROTYPERS. 

PHILADELPHIA. 


THE  ESSENTIAL  TRUTHS  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


I.  Christianity  is  the  reign  of  grace. 

II.  Christ  is  the  central  figure  in  the  Christian  system. 

III.  Christianity  is  revealed  in  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

IV.  The  Bible  is  the  ark  of  God,  that  contains  the  covenant  of 
grace, 

V.  The  parties  to  that  covenant  were  the  Three  persons  in  the 
adorable  Trinity. 

VI.  It  is  the  covenant  that  was  sealed  with  blood,  and  finished 
on  Calvary. 

VII.  There  is  no  Saviour  from  sin  but  Jesus. 

VIII.  It  is  by  faith  that  believers  are  brought  into  union  with 
Christ. 

IX.  Unbelievers,  being  out  of  Christ,  remain"  under  the  domin- 
ion of  the  law  which  worketh  death. 

X.  Grace  does  not  destroy  but  supplements  the  law. 

XI.  It  is  the  Holy  Spirit  that  reveals  Christ  in  the  hearts  of 
believers, 

XII.  There  will  be  a  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  a  general 
judgment  at  the  end  of  the  world. 


(3) 


CONTENTS  OF  PART  THIRD. 


Chapter       I. — Introductory:  The  Final  Cause  of  Things. 
II. — Doctrine  of  the  Trinity. 
III. — Doctrine  of  the  Incarnation. 
IV. — Jesus,  as  He  appeared  among  men. 
V. — The  Death  and  Resurrection  of  Jesus. 
VI. — The  Mediatorial  Kingdom. 
VII. — The  Unfulfilled  Prophecies. 
VIII. — End    of    the    World,    and    of    the    Gospel 
Dispensation. 
IX. — The  Future  Life — Heaven  and  Hell. 
X. — Consummation  of  all  things. 


(4) 


PREFACE  TO  PART  THIRD. 


''  I  ^HE  Mercy  Seat  was  the  ancient  Symbol  of  Chris- 
-*-  tianity.  It  was  the  Christian  System  under  a 
veil.  Christ  was  a  "  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation 
of  the  world."  But  a  full  and  clear  revelation  could 
not  be  made  till  the  fulness  of  time  had  come.  The 
Law  was  a  school-master  to  bring  us  to  Christ.  A 
long  course  of  training  and  discipline  was  necessary, 
before  the  glorious  scheme  of  Grace  could  be  intro- 
duced. This  was  *'  the  Mystery  of  God,"  hid  from 
the  ages.  But  the  whole  system  was  adumbrated  or 
dimly  shadowed  forth,  under  various  types  and  sym- 
bols, and  sacrificial  rites.  For  all  the  bloody  offerings 
under  the  law  were  typical,  designed  to  teach  that 
without  the  shedding  of  blood,  there  is  no  remission, 
and  pointing  to  the  blood  of  the  everlasting  Covenant, 
which  alone  can  take  away  sin.     The  whole  plan  was 

in  the  mind  of  God  from   eternity,  and  was  partially 

(S) 


6  PREFACE. 

revealed  in  the  garden  when  the  promise  was  given, 
"the  Seed  of  the  woman  shall  bruise  the  Serpent's 
head."  P)Ut  it  was  kept  under  a  veil,  and  revealed 
only  as  the  mystery  of  God.  The  full  development 
came  when  Jesus  was  born,  and  the  angels  sung  the 
song,  "Unto  you  is  born,  this  day,  in  the  city  of  David, 
a  Saviour,  who  is  Christ  the  Lord." 

The  Author. 

Philadelphia,  August,  1881. 


phOP;  , 


(Contents. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Introductory — The  Final  Cause  of  all  Things 

One  of  God's  symbols — Purpose  of  purposes — "Seed  of  the 
woman  " — The  Paschal  lamb — What  was  paramount — What 
was  auxiliary — The  great  problem  solved— Shadowed  by  the 
Mercy  Seat — Not  an  after  thought — Christ  the  moral  gov- 
ernor— The  stern  judge — Abraham  as  a  type — God  grieved 
at  His  heart — The  antediluvian  sinners — Why  God  created 
the  universe- — Reflects  the  divine  glory — The  love  of  God — 
How  made  known — The  temple  of  Grace — Scaffolding  of 
the  building — Illustration  from  Revelation — The  two  com- 
panies before  the  throne — The  Empire  of  Love — Napoleon's 
confession — Jesus  the  greatest  conqueror — Crowning  glory 
of  the  redeemed — They  suffered  with  Him — Scheme  of  cre- 
ation one — Personality  of  God — Solution  of  a  mystery — The 
council  of  three — An  objection  considered — God  not  the 
author  of  sin 13 

CHAPTER  II. 

Doctrine  of  the  Trinity. 

An  essential  doctrine — No  Christianity  without  it — Three  per- 
sons and  three  wills — Orthodoxy  and  Unitarianism — The 
Nicene  creed — How  Arius  fell — Mr.  Cook's  scientific  method 
— It  is  rationalism — Nature  of  Christianity — The  Father 
devised — The  Son  sealed  the  covenant — Agency  of  the  third 
person — Direct  testimony  of  Scripture — The  Divine  persons 
associated  in  creation  and  redemption — The  plural  name 
Elohim — The  apostolic  benediction — The  attributes  of  God 
— The  works  of  God — Worship  rendered  to  Jesus — He 
claimed  to  be  Divine — Titles  of  God — The  mystery — Many 
things  mysterious — Nine  theses  or  postulates — Supplementary 
remarks        38 

(7) 


8  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   III. 

Doctrine  of  the  Incarnation. 

The  Central  Orb — Mystery  of  godliness — Why  not  believed — 
How  it  can  be  ai)[)rehcnded — Necessity  of  the  Mediatorial 
Scheme — Plan  laid  in  Eternity — When  the  execution  was 
begun — The  great  epoch  of  time — History  divided — The 
First  prf)mise — Jacob's  prediction — The  prophecy  of  Moses 
— Isaiah's  sublime  utterances — Not  understood  by  rational- 
ists— Micah,  Daniel,  Malachi — CJeneral  expectation  of  the 
world — Tiie  "  Desire  of  nations  " — Birth  of  Octavius — Wise 
men  of  the  East — Divine  homage  to  the  infant  Jesus — No 
parallel  in  history — The  world  revolutionized — Laws  and 
customs  changed — Rome  converted — Decree  of  the  Council 
of  Nice — Jesus  in  history  and  literature — Strauss,  and  Renan 
— Moral  government  perfected  by  the  Incarnation — No  sal- 
vation without  it — To  the  glory  of  God — Greatest  amount 
of  happiness — Love  of  God  made  known — A  beautiful  extract 
— Mysteriousness  not  an  objection — Everything  mysterious 
— A  closing  reflection     .     .     .     .     • 65 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Human  Character  of  Jesus. 

Two  natures  in  one  person — When  the  union  was  constituted 
— Born  of  a  virgin — Announcement  of  Gabriel — The  diffi- 
culty with  Joseph — How  he  was  reconciled — An  objection 
by  an  infidel — Guilt  of  rationalists — Jesus  as  a  Teacher — 
Peerless  wisdom  and  purity  of  doctrine — Sermon  on  the 
Mount — Testimony  of  Daniel  Webster — Testimony  of  Re- 
nan — His  wise  and  appropriate  answers— Beyond  criticism 
— His  manner  of  life — A  character  without  spot  or  blemish 
— No  personal  ambition — Unlike  all  others — Would  not  be 
a  king — Without  covetousness — Never  known  to  take  fee  or 
reward — His  voluntary  poverty — Few  followers — His  humil- 
ity— Example,  blessing  the  little  children — Meekness  of 
Jesus — Never  retaliated  a  wrong — Never  showed  anger — 
Proofs  of  His  meekness — His  piety  as  seen  in  His  life  of 
prayer — His  physical  manhood — No  inspired  account — Let- 
ter of  Publius  Lentulus — No  reason  to  doubt  its  authenticity 
— The  conclusion — Pilate's  question — The  question  for  every 
human  being — Multiplying  copies  of  the  Record        ...     92 


CONTENTS.  9 

CHAPTER   V. 

Death  and  Resurrection  of  Jesus. 

Jesus  an  Impostor,  if  He  did  not  rise — What  rationalists  be- 
lieve— A  perilotis  attitude — Jesus  foretold  His  resurrection 
• — As  a  natural  man  he  could  not  have  foreknown  it — The 
Disciples  did  not  understand — Jews  and  Romans  conspired 
His  death — A  world's  tribunal— A  Sentence  without  any- 
parallel — Publicity  of  the  Crucifixion — Could  not  die  a  nat- 
ural death — Prophecy  of  David — Fifty-third  chapter  of  Isaiah 
— The  prediction  in  Zechariah — A  prudential  reason — A 
fraud  impossible — Precautions  used  to  prevent — The  Sepul- 
chre made  sure — The  Sf^ecial  Providence  manifest — An 
empty  tomb — The  Sentinels  bribed — Their  contradictory 
report — Dejection  of  the  few  disciples — No  hope  from  a  dead 
body — Only  a  living  Saviour  could  avail — Jesus  seen  alive 
— By  the  three  women — By  the  Eleven  apostles — Unbelief 
of  Thomas — How  he  was  convinced — Testimony  of  Paul — 
Preaching  of  Peter — Advice  of  Gamaliel— Character  of  the 
witnesses — Nothing  to  gain  by  falsehood — Life  and  labors 
of  Paul 120 

CHAPTER   VI. 

The  Mediatorial  Kingdom  of  Christ, 

The  four  universal  kingdoms — The  fifth  and  last — An  extraor- 
dinary spectacle — Christ  before  Pontius  Pilate — The  stone 
cut  out  of  the  mountain — When  Jesus  was  born — Civiliza- 
tion of  Rome — Natural  causes  and  philosophy — Beginning 
and  progress  of  Christ's  kingdom — Graphic  account  from  a 
late  writer — The  supernatural  Birth — Death  and  Resurrec- 
tion of  Christ  necessary — The  great  commission — Wonderful 
increase  of  knowledge — What  Aristotle  and  Cicero  never 
knew — The  revolution  Isaiali  and  Daniel  predicted — The 
efficient  agent,  the  Holy  Spirit — Strange  events  on  the  Day 
of  Pentecost — Pentecostal  seasons  in  modern  times — Dis- 
pensation of  the  Spirit — Familiar  Christian  phraseology — 
The  great  Revival  in  New  England — Dr.  Jonathan  Edwards' 
account — Testimony  of  Robert  Hall — The  great  Western 
Revival  in  1800 — Change  in  character  wrought  by  the 
Spirit — Remarkable  instance  of  conversion — Cure  of  the 
leprosy  of  sin — Extent  of  Christ's  kingdom — Sectarian  ig- 
norance — The  Church  the  Mediatorial  kingdom — Church 
in  heaven  and  on  earth  One — Of  such  is  the  kingdom  of 
heaven — Duration  of  the  Kingdom — Abel  the  first  subject 
— Jesus  as  Universal  King 1^2 


XO  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    UNFULFILLED    PROPHECIES. 

A  Millennial  period — Binding  of  Satan — Prophetic  utterances 
of  Isaiah — Revelation  xx. — The  last  battle  on  earth — The 
■world's  Sabbath  of  Rest — It  is  yet  future — Must  come  before 
the  end  of  the  world — Two  great  events  to  precede — The 
Jews  to  be  gathered — Dispersion  and  restoration  alike  fore- 
told— Dr.  Niccoll's  interpretation — A  literal  restoration  to 
their  own  land — Will  be  converted  to  Christ — A  culminat- 
ing argument — Will  exemjjlify  the  power  of  Christianity  — 
Claim  of  the  ancient  Jerusalem — Mystic  Babylon — Daniel's 
Wonderful  prediction  —The  Little  Horn — The  five  marks  of 
identity — John's  Description  of  Mystic  Babylon — The  four 
marks  of  Revelation — The  man  of  sin  doomed — Doom  re- 
corded Revelation  xviii. — The  ancient  Babylon — Judgment 
of  the  Modern  Babylon  sudden — Near  at  hand — God's  peo- 
]ile  shall  be  saved — The  elen^ents  of  destruction  ready — A 
world-wide  impression  necessary — Consummation,  "The 
kingdoms  of  this  world  are  become  the  kingdoms  of  our 
Lord  and  of  His  Christ  " 188 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE    END   OF   THE   WORLD,    AND    OF   THE   GOSPEL   DISPENSATION. 

Views  of  scientists  as  to  the  future  of  our  globe — They  can  tell 
nothing — What  Peter  says — Tlie  consummation  attended  by 
two  great  events — First,  the  general  resurrection  of  the  dead 
— Tiie  Sadducees'  unbelief — Christ's  syllogistic  argument 
ai;;ainst  them — Proofs  from  the  Old  Testament — Job,  Isaiah, 
Daniel — From  the  New  Testament — Argument  from  anal- 
ogy— The  chrysalis — Identity  of  bodies  in  the  resurrection 
— A  germinal  principle  that  never  tlies — Consciousness  and 
experience — Second,  a  general  judgment — The  separate  ex- 
istence— "Absent  from  the  body,  present  with  the  Lord  " 
— The  general  judgment  just  after  the  Resurrection — The 
public  exhibition  of  God's  justice — The  Books — Resurrec- 
tion of  the  just  first — The  Living  saints  changed — Then 
comes  thcresurrection  of  the  wicked — Then  the  final  con- 
flagration— The  new  heavens  and  new  earth — "  Every  tongue 
shall  confess  " — The  final  impression — God's  justice  vindi- 
cated        222 


CONTENTS.  1 1 

CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   FUTURE    LIFE  ;    OR,    HEAVEN    AND    HELL. 

The  universal  belief  in  a  future  life — What  Plutarch  wrote — A 
cognate  belief — Virtue  its  own  reward — Conscience  ever- 
present — Change  of  place  no  relief— Heaven  would  be  hell 
to  a  sinner  without  a  change — Two  preliminary  observations 
— Hell  a  place,  not  simply  a  state — A  place  of  punishment 
— The  punishment  everlasting — The  suffering  physical  and 
mental— Intensity  of  mental  suffering — A  state  of  darkness 
— The  "  Outer  darkness  " — The  impassable  gulf — The  soci- 
ety, the  inhabitants — Heaven  also  a  place — The  houses  not 
made  with  hands — Spirits  do  not  occupy  space — Clothed 
upon  and  not  found  naked — The  philosophy  considered — 
Heaven  a  holy  communion  united  by  love — Ever  growing 
in  knowledge — Everlasting  freedom  from  sin — Eternal  rest 
— Employments  of  heaven — Serving  God  day  and  night — 
Reigning  with  Christ 253 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE   CONSUMMATION    OF   ALL   THINGS. 

The  mystery  of  God — "  The  Intent  " — "Manifold  Wisdom," 
"Abundant  Grace" — To  be  made  known — Principalities 
and  powers — Sinless  worlds — Only  two  revolted  worlds — No 
knowledge  of  Grace  under  absolute  physical  law — This 
knowledge  revealed — The  glad  tidings — Millions  of  worlds 
— The  distinction  conferred  on  our  earth — Jesus  never  died 
but  once — Thus  the  Grace  was  manifested — Angels,  as  min- 
istering spirits — Minister  only  to  the  heirs  of  salvation — 
Future  distinction  of  the  Redeemed — They  make  the  salva- 
tion known  in  other  worlds — Their  special  qualifications — 
Thev  will  be  Christ's  coronated  heroes — Vicegerents  under 
the  King  of  kings — Anthem  of  all  worlds — Perfect  glory — 
Profane  babblings  of  human  philosophers — Extracts — Phi- 
losophy of  the  Bible — Only  two  out  of  millions — Incidental 
evil  — God's  justice  vindicated — The  Church,  the  Lamb's 
wife — This  earth  the  birthplace — The  City  of  God,  New  Je- 
rusalem, in  which  He  will  dwf^l  forever — Conclusion — An 
Invocation        285 


\ 


''>•, 


MOSES  AND  THE  PHILOSOPHERS. 

PART  THIRD. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Introductory — The  Final  Cause  of  all  Things, 

One  of  God's  symbols — Purpose  of  purposes — "Seed  of  the  woman" — The 
Paschal  lamb — What  was  paramount — What  was  auxiliary — The  great  problem 
solved — Shadowed  by  the  Mercy  Seat — Not  an  after  thought — Christ  the 
moral  governor — The  stern  judge — Abraham  as  a  type — God  grieved  at  His 
heart — The  antediluvian  sinners — Why  God  created  the  universe — Reflects 
the  Divine  glory — The  love  of  God — How  made  known — The  temple  of 
Grace — Scaffolding  of  the  building — Illustration  from  Revelation — The  twO 
companies  before  the  throne — The  Empire  of  Love — Napoleon's  confession — 
Jesu,s  the  greatest  conqueror — Crowning  glory  of  the  redeemed — They  suffered 
with  Him — Scheme  of  creation  one — Personality  of  God — Solution  of  a  mys- 
tery— rThe  council  of  three — An  objection  considered — God  not  the  author 
of  sin. 

WE  stand  at  the  entrance  of  the  Holy  of  holies. 
The  vail  is  lifted,  and  what  do  we  behold  ? 
The  cherubim  of  glory  overshadowing-  a  Mercy  Seat! 
This  is  one  of  God's  symbols — the  most  impressive, 
and  at  the  same  time  the  most  expressive,  that  ever 
solicited  the  attention  of  a  finite  mind.  The  ereat 
fact  or  truth  symbolized,  is  the  Lamb  slain  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world.  This  is  the  central  truth  of 
the  Christian  system. 

The  author  would  here  say,  that  when  the  light  of 
this  truth  first  flashed  on  his  mind,  it  seemed  almost 
overpowering — almost  too  great  for  human  faith  to 
receive.     What  emotions  must  be  awakened  in  every 

(13) 


14  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

devout  soul,  when  first  he  learns  that  within  that 
sacred  recess — the  most  Holy  Place,  so  sedulously 
guarded  from  vulgar  gaze  for  long  ages,  there  had 
been  shadowed  forth  under  a  vail,  the  whole  scheme 
of  erace,  in  the  blood  ot  the  Lamb  slain  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world  ! 

We  read  once  in  the  sacred  Scriptures,  but  only 
once,  of  an  "eternal  purpose."  That  was  the  purpose 
of  purposes,  and  the  decree  of  decrees,  or  the  begin- 
ning of  all  decrees.  And  what  was  that  eternal  pur- 
pose ?  It  was  the  purpose  ''given  us  in  Christ  Jesus^' 
or  the  purpose  of  redemption,  in  which  it  was  decreed 
that  in  the  fulness  of  time,  Jesus  should  suffer,  and  die 
as  a  Lamb  to  take  away  the  sin  of  the  world.  And 
by  whom  was  the  decree  signed  ?  By  the  three  per- 
sons in  the  adorable  Trinity. 

God  was  merciftil.  But  without  a  scheme  of  grace, 
neither  man  nor  angel  could  ever  have  had  any 
knowledge  of  this  attribute. 

The  earliest  indication  of  the  existence  of  that 
eternal  decree  of  love,  was  given  in  the  garden — "  the 
seed  of  the  woman  shall  bruise  the  serpent's  head." 
It  was  also,  perhaps,  more  clearly  adumbrated  in  the 
institution  of  bloody  offerings  for  sin,  that  immediately 
followed  the  promise.  And  all  along  through  the 
patriarchal  ages,  and  the  Levitical  dispensation,  this 
fundamental  truth  was  ever  kept  before  the  minds  of 
God's  people,  by  various  typical  rites  and  bloody 
offerings. 

The  paschal  lamb  offered  in  the  celebration  of  the 
yearly  passover,  was  a  fit  and  lively  emblem  of  "  the 
Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world."     And 


THE    FINAL   CAUSE    OF   ALL   THINGS.  1 5 

the  lambs  "without  spot  or  blemish,"  slain  morning 
and  evening  in  the  daily  sacrifice,  were  designed  to 
keep  the  Jews  in  perpetual  remembrance  of  the  fact, 
that,  without  the  shedding  of  blood,  there  is  no  remis- 
sion. 

We  have  intimated  that  the  scheme  of  redemption 
was  embraced  in  that  "  eternal  purpose,"  which  was 
the  beginning  of  all  decrees.  By  this  we  understand 
that  it  was  the  paramount  purpose — that  all  other  pur- 
poses— all  other  schemes — all  other  works  were  only 
auxiliaries  in  the  accomplishment  of  this  glorious  pur- 
pose of  grace,  that  was  given  us  in  Christ  Jesus. 

This  doctrine  can  be  apprehended  only  by  faith. 
No  rationalist  can  receive  it.  In  height  and  depth, 
it  is  infinite,  and  our  understandino-  is  finite.  But, 
entering  upon  the  study  now,  we  may  pursue  it 
through  eternity,  and  make  infinite  progress. 

In  the  chapters  constituting  the  second  part  of  this 
work,  we  have  seen  that  there  is  a  fundamental  distinc- 
tion between  the  law  of  liberty,  and  the  law  of  necessity. 
It  was  shown  that  without  a  moral  faculty,  and  a  posi- 
tive law  as  a  rule  of  duty,  there  would  have  been  no 
government  in  existence  but  physical  government,  or 
the  beautiful  necessity,  so  admired  and  so  extolled  by 
philosophers  of  the  Concord  school. 

The  materialistic  philosophers  of  our  day,  have  no 
ideas,  as  indeed  they  can  have  none,  of  right  and  wrong 
— of  moral  good  and  evil — of  holiness  and  sin,  except  as 
mere  properties  of  matter.  They  regard  the  natural 
appetites,  the  natural  affections  and  the  animal  instincts 
peculiar  to  the  flesh,  as  qualities  of  matter.  In  like 
manner,  they  believe  that  all  the  higher  and  nobler  traits 


l6  MOSES    AND   THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

of  character,  by  which  man  is  thstinguished  from  the 
inferior  animals,  are  hkewise  properties  of  matter, 
only  more  highly  rehned  ;  and  so  there  is  no  law  but 
physical  law. 

The  dangerous  sophistry  of  all  such  reasonings, 
was  duly  pointed  out.  We  proceeded  a  step  further, 
and  having  shown  the  nature,  the  necessity  and 
the  perfection  of  the  moral  system,  we  pointed  out 
the  necessity  of  sanctions,  and  the  impossibility  of 
pardons  without  satisfaction,  in  the  case  of  trans- 
gression. 

Especially  was  the  hostile  attitude,  in  which  Justice 
stands  related  to  Mercy,  explained.  How  could  God 
make  a  full  revelation  of  Himself,  in  all  the  attributes 
of  His  character,  under  the  dispensation  of  a  broken 
law  ?  That  was  the  mystery  no  finite  intelligence 
could  solve.  But,  blessed  be  His  name  forever,  God 
Himself  solved  the  problem.  The  solution  of  it  was 
dimly  shadowed  forth  by  the  symbol  of  the  Mercy- 
Seat,  that  contained  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  over- 
shadowed by  the  cherubim  of  glory.  The  mystery  is 
now  perfectly  solved,  since  the  proclamation  made  by 
angels  to  the  shepherds  who  kept  watch  over  their 
flocks  by  night  on  the  plains  of  Judaea:  "Fear  not; 
behold,  I  bring  you  glad  tidings  of  great  joy,  which 
shall  be  to  all  people  ;  for  unto  you  is  born  this  day, 
in  the  city  of  David,  a  Saviour,  which  is  Christ  the 
Lord." 

The  problem  of  the  universe  has  been  worked  out. 
"When  there  was  no  eye  to  pity,  and  no  arm  to  bring 
deliverance,"  we  hear  His  voice  sounding  out  from 
the  eternities  past,  and  saying,  "  Lo,  I  come ;  in  the 


THE    FINAL    CAUSE    OF   ALL   THINGS.  1/ 

volume  of  the  book,  it  is  written  of  me,  to  do  thy  will, 
O  God  !  "  For  "  I  have  found  out  a  ransom."  This 
was  the  voice  of  the  Son.  God,  the  -Father,  volun- 
tarily gave  the  Son  unto  death.  The  Son  voluntarily 
undertook  the  work  of  redemption  for  man.  The 
offering  was  a  free-will  offering.  It  was  superla- 
tively a  transaction  of  grace,  not  of  law  or  necessity. 
Jesus  said,  "I  lay  down  my  life  of  myself;  I  have 
power  to  lay  it  down,  and  I  have  power  to  take  it 
aofain." 

Having  thus  explained  what  "the  eternal  purpose" 
was,  it  remains  to  be  seen  that  it  was  the  purpose  of 
purposes,  or  the  leading  purpose  in  the  mind  of  God. 
which  actuated  or  moved  Him  to  give  birth  to  the 
universe,  as  it  now  stands.  As  God  is  an  infinite  and 
intelligent  Spirit,  He  must  have  had  a  reason  or  a 
motive  for  doing  what  He  has  done.  He  had  a  plan 
or  a  purpose  in  His  mind,  and  we  say,  that  purpose 
was  eternal.  It  was  not  an  after-thought — not  the 
effect  of  any  change  in  His  mind.  For  there  are  no 
changes  in  the  mind  of  God. 

When  God  made  the  planetary  worlds — when  He 
made  this  orb  on  which  we  dwell — when  He  made 
man  in  His  own  image.  He  had  a  purpose  in  these 
creations,  and  that  was  the  one  eternal  purpose  in 
Christ  Jesus.  In  the  prosecution  of  that  purpose,  it 
was  necessary  to  erect  a  proper  theatre  on  which  to 
enact  the  scenes  of  redemption,  and  to  exhibit  Him- 
self in  the  character  accorded  to  Him  in  those  tran- 
scendent and  sublime  words  of  inspiration,  uttered  by 
Moses : 

"  The  Lord,  the  Lord  God,  merciful  and  gracious^ 


l8  MOSES    AND    TIIF.    I'll  ILOSOPHERS. 

Io7ig-sujferino\  and  abuudant  in  goodness  and  irutJi, 
keeping  mercy  for  thousands  ;  forgiving  iniquity,  and 
transgression,  and  sin  ;  and  that  will  by  no  means  clear 
the  guilty!' 

Here  is  a  description  which  uninspired  man  could 
never  have  conceived.  What  a  paradox  ! — "forgiving" 
iniquity,  and  transgression,  and  sin — and  that  will  by 
no  means  clear  the  guilty  !  "  It  looks  like  a  contra- 
diction in  terms.  But  God  ha.s  solved  the  problem. 
And  this  solution  is  the  key  that  enables  us  to  solve 
many  a  mystery  in  the  histor\-  of  Providence. 

For  example,  when  we  read  the  sentence  of  the 
inexorable  Judge,  pronounced  against  His  own  chil- 
dren, the  first  human  pair,  apparently  M'ithout  any 
softening  or  forgiveness,  or  any  sign  ot  pity,  casting 
them  out  of  Paradise,  and  then  placing  cherubim  and 
a  flaming  sword  which  turned  every  way,  to  bar  them 
from  the  tree  of  life,  lest  they  should  eat  of  it  and  live 
forever — when  we  read  this  account,  we  are  apt  to 
feel  that  the  transaction  was  rather  that  of  a  stern  and 
merciless  Judge,  than  that  of  a  gracious  and  loving 
Father.  Rut  if  we  view  it  in  the  light  of  that  eternal 
purpose  now  made  known  to  us,  we  shall  see  not 
only  severity  and  justice-,  but  mercy  mingled  with 
the  justice — and  more  of  mercy  and  love  than  of  se- 
verity. 

For,  who  was  that  Lord  God,  who  sternly  rebuked 
our  first  parents  for  their  sin,  and  drove  them  out  of 
Eden?  It  was  He,  who  afterward  died  on  Calvary  to 
redeem  them,  and  to  purchase  for  them  an  entrance 
into  the  P2den  above  at  God's  right  hand!  And  at 
the  moment  when   He  showed   Himself  so  inexorable 


THE    FINAL   CAUSE    OF    ALL   THINGS.  I9 

and  stern,  His  heart  was  yearning  over  them  in  pity 
— and  even  then  He  had  His  eye  on  the  agony 
and  suffering  He  was  to  endure  for  them,  four  thou- 
sand years  hence,  in  Gethsemane,  and  on  Mount  Cal- 
vary ! 

What  a  view  does  this  give  us  of  God's  compassion! 
When  Abraham  stood  ready,  with  drawn  knife,  to  slay 
his  son,  and  to  offer  him  up  as  a  burnt-offering  at  the 
command  of  God,  we  are  not  to  believe  that  the  prin- 
ciple of  natural  affection  had  been  extinguished  from 
his  heart.  On  the  contrary,  that  was  the  severest 
trial  to  which  the  faith  of  the  old  patriarch  was  ever 
subjected.  But  Abraham  was  not  the  man  to  sacrifice 
duty  to  affection.  He  laid  his  son  on  the  altar  at 
God's  Command,  and  thus  in  a  sense,  he  became  the 
only  living  type  of  God.  He  delivered  up  His  own 
Son  unto  death  to  save  lost  sinners,  not  because  He 
loved  His  Son  less,  but  because  there  was  no  other 
way  to  maintain  and  vindicate  the  law  of  His  holiness. 

There  is  no  human  affection,  that  can  be  compared 
with  the  love  of  God  for  sinners.  There  are  multiplied 
proofs  of  this,  both  in  the  word  and  in  the  Providence 
of  God. 

"  God  commendeth  His  love  towards  us,  in  that 
while  we  were  yet  enemies,  Christ  died  for  the  un- 
godlv." 

But  there  are  so  many  dispensations  in  the  history 
of  the  world,  having  the  appearance  of  judgment  and 
wrath,  that  some  philosophers  pretend,  they  can  see 
no  evidence  of  the  hand  of  a  good  and  merciful  God 
in  these  things.  Take  the  account  of  the  fiood  as 
recorded   by  Moses — that    would    make   God    worse 


20  MOSES    AND   THR    PHILOSOPHERS. 

tlian  any  tyrant  or  fiend,  as  tlicsc  pliilosophcrs  look  at 
it.  It  is  because  they  know  nothing.  They  ignore 
the  fact,  that,  as  the  righteous  moral  Governor,  God 
had  borne  with  those  antediluvian  sinners  for  hun- 
dreds of  years — they  forget  that  they  had  become  ex- 
ceedingly corrupt  in  His  sight,  waxing  worse  and 
worse — that  they  had  filled  the  earth  with  violence — 
that  they  were  moral  agents,  and  that  they  knew  all 
the  time,  that  they  were  rebels  against  His  righteous 
government. 

But  God  could  not  set  aside  or  disregard  His 
righteous  law,  because  they  had  thus  apostatized,  and 
because  He  is  of  a  merciful  disposition.  He  is  merciful, 
but  at  the  same  time  He  is  holy.  Nor  did  He  cut  them 
off  suddenly,  and  without  due  warning.  Even  after 
Noah  was  called  to  be  a  preacher  of  righteousness  to 
warn  and  exhort  them.  He  gave  them  a  space  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  years  for  repentance,  at  the  same 
time  saying,  "  My  Spirit  shall  not  always  strive  with 
man," — which  implies  that  His  Spirit  had  been  striv- 
ing with  them  up  to  that  time.  Is  there  anything  in 
all  this  that  gives  to  the  Divine  Father,  the  aspect  of 
a  cruel  tyrant  or  a  demon,  who  takes  pleasure  in 
sending  causeless  judgments  ? 

And  when  at  last  they  would  not  be  reclaimed,  and 
when  He  found  that  He  must  inflict  the  penalty  of  the 
holy  law,  after  having  waited  so  long,  it  is  said,  that, 
it  "  grieved  God  at  His  heart,  that  He  had  made  man 
on  the  earth."  What  a  solemn  significance  does  that 
expression  carry  with  it — as  if  the  hardest  thing  that 
God  ever  did,  was  to  punish  sinners,  who  defy  His 
authority,  and  trample  all  His  laws  under  their  feet — 


THE    FINAL    CAUSE    OF    ALL    THINGS.  21 

He  is  SO  long"  suffering-,  and  so  full  of  pity.  But  His 
Spirit  cannot  always  strive  with  man.  He  is  just  and 
holy  as  well  as  merciful,  and  He  must  manifest  His 
opposition  to  sin. 

This  is  the  character  ascribed  to  the  Holy  One, 
throughout  the  Sacred  Volume.  And  who  shall  find 
fault  with  this  character  ?  It  is  not  stranc^e  that  there 
are  so  many  judgments  in  the  land.  But  it  is  strange 
that  there  are  not  more.  God  is  lonor-sufferinor.  And 
if  it  were  not  so,  who  could  stand  in  His  sight? 
Mercy  is  all  the  time  pleading  against  justice,  and 
holdinor  back  the  sword  of  indlenation. 

We  shall  now  show,  from  several  considerations 
that  the  purpose  of  Grace  in  Christ,  formed  in  eternity, 
was  the  highest  purpose — or  certainly  higher  than  any 
other  purpose  that  a  finite  mind  can  conceive — that 
could  have  influenced  the  Eternal  Mind  to  put  forth 
His  creative  energies,  in  giving  existence  to  the  pres- 
ent frame  of  the  universe. 

I.  In  the  first  place,  when  there  was  nothing  in  ex- 
istence but  God,  He  could  have  had  no  motive  or 
purpose,  drawn  from  any  thing  outside  of  Himself, 
to  exert  His  creative  energies.  Therefore,  the  mani- 
festation of  His  glory  was  the  only  consideration,  that 
can  be  supposed  to  have  influenced  His  mind  from 
eternity.  Hence,  we  read,  tliat,  "  God  made  all  things 
for  Himself,  and  that  for  His  pleasure  they  are,  and 
were  created." 

Should  it  be  argued  against  this  position,  that  a 
Supreme  regard  to  the  happiness  of  the  creature, 
would  be  a  higher  motive  than  the  manifestation  of 
His  own  glory,  it  would  be  a  sufficient  reply,  to  say, 


22  MOSES    AND    TIIK    I'll  ILOSOPHKRS. 

tliat  God  coiiKl  not  have  been  influenced  by  such  a 
consideration,  when,  as  yet  no  creature  existed,  even 
in  the  divine  thoui^ht.  To  affirm  it,  would  be  to 
assert  a  contradiction. 

But  should  we  even  admit  tlic  possibility,  it  would 
make  nothing  against  the  position  we  assume,  since 
the  less  purpose  must  necessarily  be  included  in  the 
greater.  For  if  the  most  wise  and  holy  One,  were 
moved  to  bring  this  vast  and  boundless  universe  into 
being,  for  His  own  pleasure  and  glory,  the  execution 
of  the  purpose,  would  necessitate  the  highest  possible 
good  of  the  creature.  This  conclusion  appears  to 
be  self-evident. 

In  the  beginning, — and  before  die  beginning  of 
things,  God  was  holy,  and  wise,  and  just,  and  good,  and 
merciful.  This  was  his  nature.  But  how  was  this  na- 
ture to  be  developed  ?  Nothing  existed  but  God,  He 
wanted  scope  or  room  for  the  play  of  these  perfections 
of  His  being.  He  wanted  to  give  activity  to  His  wis- 
dom, to  His  holiness,  to  His  justice,  to  His  goodness, 
to  His  mercy.  But  He  could  not  do  this  without  creat- 
ing the  objects,  on  whom,  or  to  whom  He  could  exhibit 
His  wisdom.  His  holiness.  His  justice.  His  goodness, 
and  His  mercy.  Hence  the  universe  as  it  now  exists. 
It  sprung  from  the  nature  of  (}od.  It  reflects  the 
glory  of  God.  And  holiness,  justice,  wisdom,,  good- 
ness, and  mercy  must  have  remained  forever  hidden 
and  dormant  in  the  bosom  of  God,  if  there  had  been 
no  visible  universe.  The  universe  is  God's  mirror, 
which  reflects,  if  we  may  say  so,  an  image  of  GckI,  or 
which  exhibits  the  perfections  of  God.  The  intelligent 
can  see  in  it  the  signs  of  infinite  power,  the  signs 


THE    FINAL    CAUSE    OF    AT.T.    THINGS.  23 

of  infinite  wisdom,  and  infinite  goodness.  But  O, 
what  a  defective  universe  this  would  have  been,  as  a 
visible  representation  of  the  character  of  God,  if  it  had 
exhibited  no  visible  signs  of  His  holiness,  of  His  jus- 
tice, and  His  mercy  !  What  if  this  universe  were  only 
a  physical  system,  or  a  material  universe — there  would 
be  power  displayed,  ahd  also  wisdom — but  there 
would  have  been  no  sign  of  holiness,  justice,  and 
mercy,  nowhere  in  all  the  universe.  The  real  and 
glorious  character  of  God,  would  have  been  forever 
concealed  from  the  view  of  all  intelligent  creatures. 

II,  This  leads  us  to  say,  in  the  second  place,  that  a 
moral  system  was  necessary — a  moral  government — 
or  a  moral  dispensation,  in  order  that  the  moral  per- 
fections of  God's  nature  mio-ht  be  known,  as  His  holi- 
ness  and  justice — and  that  a  system  of  g^race  was 
necessary,  or  a  gospel  dispensation,  in  order  that 
mercy  should  reign,  or  that  the  compassionate,  loving 
nature  of  God  might  be  known.  The  rationalist  may 
turn  up  the  lip  of  scorn  and  derision  at  this  idea. 
But  if  he  will  be  candid  and  honest,  he  must  admit 
that  in  intrinsic  value  and  importance,  there  is  no 
comparison  between  a  material  system,  controlled 
by  necessary  and  absolute  law,  and  a  moral  dispensa- 
tion that  is  upheld  and  maintained  on  the  principles 
of  justice,  righteousness,  and  truth.  These  are  the 
perfections  which  constitute  the  glory  of  God's  charac- 
ter. What  satisfaction  would  it  be  to  me  to  know  that 
God  is  great  or  powerful,  if  I  did  not  also  know  that 
He  is  just,  and  good,  and  merciful,  and  true?  But 
how  could  these  traits  of  His  character  be  understood, 
if  there  were   no   created   system — no   mirror,  so   to 


24  MOSES    AMD    TUK    PHILOSOPHERS, 

spiak,  in  which  U)  hc.]uM  thcin  ?  Or  what  satisfac- 
tion would  it  be  to  me  to  know  even  that  God  is  hoi)-, 
and  that  He  is  just — I  am  a  sinner,  1  am  ij^uilty — if  I 
did  not  also  know  that  God  is  merciful — that  He  is 
a  Compassionate  Saviour?  But  tell  mc-,  how  I  could 
know  this,  if  there  had  never  been  a  hill  of  Calvary, 
nor  a  cross,  nor  a  bleedin<^  Lamb  suspended  thereon? 
It  is  this  attribute  of  love  that  bring^s  the  infmite  God 
into  close  union,  and  conimunion  with  finite  creatures. 
Without  this  knowledge  that  God  is  love,  it  seems  to 
me  I  would  rather  that  /  had  never  seen  the  light  of 
existence  at  all.  But  w  ith  this  knowledge,  I  can  lean 
on  His  bosom  with  the  feeling  that  He  is  my  Father, 
and  I  seem  to  sw^m  in  an  ocean  of  love. 

God  mijjht  have  been  merciful  and  frracious  in  His 
disposition  ;  but  with  that  mercy  locked  up  in  himself, 
and  with  no  object  on  which  to  bestow  His  love.  He 
would  have  been,  as  we  may  sa)-,  in  the  condition  of 
a  creature  heart — affectionate,  tender  and  loving,  or 
with  a  capacity  to  love,  but  without  an  object  on  which 
to  bestow  its  love.  Would  not  such  a  heart  long  and 
sigh  for  something,  on  which  to  lavish  its  wealth  of 
love  ? 

Therefore,  the  Supreme  Father,  wdiose  name  is  love, 
was  pleased  to  devise  a  way  for  the  exercise — for  the 
pouring  out  of  that  wealth  of  love,  that  was  treasured 
in  His  heart  from  eternity.  This  is  the  acme  of  glory. 
This  was  the  final  cause  of  things. 

This  may  seem  nonsense  to  the  materialist,  but  I  do 
not  hesitate  to  affirm,  that  the  whole  mighty  material 
universe,  with  all  its  paraphernalia  of  suns,  moons,  and 
stars,  and  solid  globes  were  brought  into  existence, 


THE    FINAL    CAUSE    OF    ALL    THINGS.  2^ 

simply  as  a  platform  on  which  to  erect  the  temple  of 
grace.  God  is  love.  Nay,  I  may  say  that  the  physi- 
cal system,  and  the  moral  system  as  well,  are  but  the 
staofine,  or  the  scaffoldino-  erected  for  the  buildino-  of 
that  temple  of  grace.  Calvary  is  the  acme  of  the  uni- 
verse. There  was  a  "lamb  slain  from  the  foundation 
of  the  world." 

As  there  may  be  some,  not  able  quite  to  take  In 
this  sublime  truth,  I  will  endeavor  to  render  it  more 
intelligible,  by  illustrations  taken  from  Revelation. 
To  this  end  I  will  transcribe  a  portion  of  one  of  the 
visions  of  John,  in  the  isle  of  Patmos  : 

"  I  beheld,  and  lo  a  Qrreat  multitude,  which  no  man 
could  number  ot  all  nations,  and  kindreds,  and  people, 
and  tongues  stood  before  the  throne,  and  before  the 
Lamb,  clothed  with  white  robes,  and  palms  in  their 
hands  ;  and  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying,  salvation 
to  our  God,  which  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto 
the  Lamb.  And  all  the  angels  stood" round  about  the 
throne,  and  about  the  elders,  and  the  four  beasts,  and 
fell  before  the  throne  on  their  faces,  and  worshipped 
God,  saying.  Amen,  blessing  and  glory,  and  wisdom, 
and  thanksgiving,  and  honor,  and  power,  and  might 
be  unto  God  forever  and  ever.  Amen." 

If  any  one  can  read  this  sublime  description,  with- 
out having  the  impression  made  on  his  heart,  that  the 
eternal  purpose  In  Christ  does.  Indeed,  transcend  our 
feeble  powers  of  thought,  it  must  be  that  his  heart 
has  not  yet  been  attuned  to  that  song  of  salvation, 
sung  by  that  Innumerable  company  above,  clothed  In 
white.  We  have.  In  this  wonderful  vision  of  John,  the 
full  development,  and  the  final  consummation  of  that 
eternal  purpose  of  Redemption. 


26  MOSES  AND  TIIK  riiiLosoninKS. 

John  has  a  vision  of  two  companies  cncirdlnn^  the 
throne;  the  first,  the  nuikitude  which  no  man  could 
number,  of  all  nations  and  kindreds,  and  people,  and 
tongues,  standing  before  the  throne,  and  before  the 
Lamb,  the  whole  burden  of  whose  sonir  is  Salvation — 
"Salvation  to  our  God,  which  sitteth  upon  the  throne, 
and  unto  the  Lamb."  The  other  company  consists 
of  the  sinless  auLiels,  who  also,  "  fallinij-  down" — notice 
the  expression — "falling  down,  worshipped  God" — 
the  redeem(;d  are  represented  as  standing.  And  no- 
tice also  what  they  say  in  their  worship — there  is  not 
a  word  about  Salvation,  as  they  had  never  been  re- 
deemed. But  they  say,  "Amen;  blessing,  and  glory, 
and  wisdom,  and  thanksgiving,  and  honor,  and  power, 
and  might  be  unto  our  God  forever  and  ever."  Any 
rationalist  who  believes  in  the  existence  of  a  God, 
could  join  in  their  ascriptions,  for  they  recognize  only 
the  natural  perfections  of  God.  In  every  respect  the 
precedence  is  given  to  the  redeemed  hosts,  over  the 
unsinning  angels.  They  are  mentioned  first — they 
stand  up  to  worship  instead  of  falling  down — they 
are  nearer  the  throne,  and  they  sing  the  sweetest 
song. 

Notice  also,  that  there  must  have  been  somethino- 
peculiar  and  striking  In  the  appearance  of  the  saved 
ones,  to  cause  the  admiring  gaze  of  the  celestial  hosts, 
to  be  fixed  on  them.  Vo\-  one  of  the  four  and  twenty 
elders — one  of  the  hierarchies  of  heaven,  asks,  "Who 
are  these  " — pointing  to  the  crowned  ones,  having 
palms  of  victory  In  their  hands — "  who  are  these 
arrayed  In  white  robes,  and  whence  came  they?" 
John,  knowing    that  the   elder  who    asked,  b(.;ing  one 


THE    FINAL    CAUSE    OF    ALL    THINGS.  2/ 

of  the  principalities  or  powers  above,  who  stand  al- 
ways before  the  throne,  must  certainly  have  kno\\n 
who  they  were,  said  unto  him,  "Sir,  thou  knowest. 
And  he  said,  these  are  they  which  came  out  of  great 
tribulation,  and  have  washed  their  robes,  and  made 
them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb." 

Can  these  words  be  paraphrased  ?  Can  the  signifi- 
cance of  them  be  put  in  other  words,  so  as  to  give 
learned  philosophers  even  the  faintest  conception 
thereof?  They  think  the  language  figurative,  meta- 
phorical. They  think  it  is  all  poetry.  But  there  was 
a  Lamb  slain.  His  blood  was  poured  out,  and  they 
were  redeemed  by  His  blood,  as  really  as  if  their  robes 
had  been  literally  washed  in  His  blood.  And  their 
song  of  gratitude  and  love,  is,  "  Thou  art  worthy,  for 
Thou  hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  Thy  blood."  But 
they  don't  understand  it,  and  of  course,  they  will  never 
be  able  to  take  a  part  in  the  song.  But  this  was 
the  eternal  Decree.  And  this  was  symbolized  by  the 
Mercy  Seat. 

The  Lamb  is  spoken  of,  as  "  the  Lamb  slain  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world."  From  eternity,  He 
looked  forward  to  the  suffering  He  was  to  endure  on 
Calvary.  From  all  eternity,  He  was  willing  to  "pour 
out  His  soul  unto  death."  This  was  love — "for  God 
is  love."  Yea,  this  was  "  an  everlasting  love."  Now 
if  Christ  died  for  them  because  He  loved  them,  will 
anything  ever  be  able  to  separate  them  from  His 
love?  The  apostle  asks,  "Shall  tribulation,  or  dis- 
tress, or  persecution,  or  famine,  or  nakedness,  or  peril, 
or  sword  ?  "  Nay,  nay — he  adds:  "  for  I  am  persuaded 
that  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  principali- 


28  MOSES    AND   THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

ties,  nor  powers,  nor  thing's  present,  nor  thing's  to 
come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature 
shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God, 
which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord," 

It  was  a  kingdom  of  grace  ruled  by  love,  which 
Christ  coveted,  and  purposed  from  eternity  to  estab- 
lish. The  Mediatorial  kingdom  is  a  kinsfdom  of  love. 
The  foundation  stones  were  laid  by  grace.  Each  sub- 
ject of  that  kingdom,  tlie  holy  prophets,  apostles, 
martNTs,  redeemed  by  His  blood,  will  be  more,  in  His 
esteem,  than  millions  of  bright  suns  and  stars.  For 
what  could  a  material  universe  be  to  Him,  in  com- 
parison with  His  kingdom  of  Grace?  By  a  miraculous 
act  of  His  power — by  the  simple  fiat  of  His  almighty 
will,  He  created  the  material  universe.  But  He  could 
not  be  known  in  a  material  universe,  or  adored,  as  a 
God  of  love  and  grace.  Therefore,  He  wanted  to 
have  a  kingdom  of  love.  But  He  could  not  create  it 
by  a  miraculous  act  of  His  power.  There  had  to  be 
first,  a  material  system,  then  a  moral  dispensation, 
then  a  Mount  Calvary  and  a  cross — a  process  requir- 
ing the  lapse  of  ages.  But  He  did  not  hesitate  to 
undertake  the  mighty  task.  He  stooped  to  suffering 
and  death.  He  conquered  sin  and  the  powers  of 
darkness,  and  thus  He  purchased  His  kingdom  of 
Grace.  There  was  no  other  way.  All  the  subjects 
of  that  kingdom  are  ruled  by  love,  having  His  love 
shed  abroad  in  their  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost  given 
unto  them. 

How  say  some  then,  that  there  is  nothing  in  exis- 
tence, but  a  mighty  material  universe — that  the  worlds 
— that  man,  and  all   things  are  governed  by  absolute 


THE    FINAL    CAUSE    OF    ALL    THINGS.  29 

physical  law  ?  Their  gross,  carnal  natures  do  not 
take  in  this  idea  of  orrace.  But  here  is  a  kincrdom — 
the  mediatorial  kinofdom,  which  is  a  kingdom  of  love, 
the  foundations  of  which  were  laid  in  love.  Love  is 
the  supreme  law.  All  the  subjects  are  united  to  one 
another,  and  to  Jesus  the  supreme  Head,  by  love. 
One  of  the  greatest  world-heroes  said: 

"Alexander,  Caesar,  Charlemagne,  and  myself 
founded  empires;  but  upon  what  did  we  rest  the  crea- 
tions of  our  genius?  Upon  force.  Jesus  Christ  alone 
founded  His  empire  upon  love  ;  and  at  this  hour, 
millions  of  men  would  die  for  Him  ! "  So  spake 
Napoleon  the  great.  And  he  added:  "what  an  abyss 
between  my  deep  misery  and  the  eternal  kingdom  of 
Christ,  which  is  proclaimed,  loved,  and  adored  !  " 

All  this  was  in  the  Divine  purpose.  Jesus  Christ 
determined  to  have  a  kingdom  of  love.  And  He  has 
it.  And  now,  seated  on  His  throne.  He  can  say,  as 
He  does  say,  to  every  follower,  "  To  him  that  over- 
cometh,  will  I  grant  to  sit  with  me  in  my  throne,  even 
as  I  overcame,  and  am  set  down  with  my  Father  In 
His  throne." 

This  requires  us  to  notice  another  cii"cumstance 
mentioned  in  the  description  of  that  illustrious  com- 
pany, seen  by  John,  standing  nearest  to  the  throne, 
"these  are  they  which  came  out  of  great  tribulation," 
etc.,  signifying  that  they  had  come  up  from  a  warfare 
— that  they  had  been  in  a  great  fight  of  afflictions,  and 
that  they  had  been  victorious. 

This  will  ever  be  one  of  the  crownino-  excellencies 
in  the  character  of  the  redeemed,  that  they  had  suf- 
fered with  Christ — that  they  had  been  brought  out  of 


30  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

great  tribulation.  Tliis  can  never  be  true  of  any  sin- 
less order  of  beings.  Among-  the  countless  orders, 
and  the  infinite  multitudes  belonging  to  each  order, 
who  may  people  the  countless  worlds  belonging  to 
Jeho\ah's  vast  empire,  there  is  but  one  order  or  rank, 
as  we  have  to  believe — the  redeemed  of  Adam's  race 
— concerning  whom  it  will  ever  be  true,  that,  having 
fought  and  contended  even  unto  death,  they  came  out 
of  great  tribulation,  to  be  crowned  as  kings  and 
priests  unto  God. 

It  is  impossible  to  be  in  sympathy  with  Christ,  with- 
out sufferine  with  him.  No  one  ever  suffered  more 
than  Christ.  He  could  not  have  had  His  kintrdom 
of  love  without  suffering.  Hence  it  is  said,  that,  "  it 
became  Him,  in  bringing  many  sons  and  daughters  to 
glory,  to  make  the  Captain  of  their  salvation  perfect 
through  suffering."  There  could  have  been  no  salva- 
tion, and  He  could  not  have  been  the  Captain  of  sal- 
vation, if  He  had  not  suffered.  But  "  for  the  joy  set 
before  Him,  He  endured  the  cross,  despising  the 
shame,  and  is  henceforth  set  down  at  the  right  hand 
of  God."  To  be  like  Him,  and  to  be  in  sympathy  with 
Him,  His  followers  must  suffer  with  Him,  And  all 
who  thus  suffer  with  Him,  and  for  Him,  are  to  consti- 
tute that  noble  army  of  the  martyrs,  who  came  out  of 
great  tribulation,  and  have  washed  their  robes,  and 
made  tliem  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 

There  are  two  or  three  inferences  from  the  subject 
discussed,  which  I  v.ill  brielly  state,  but  shall  not 
attempt  to  elaborate. 

I.  And  one  inference  has  respect  to  the  unity  of 
design   that  seems   to  pervade  the   universe,  proving 


THE    FINAL    CAUSE    OF    ALL   THINGS.  3I 

that  God  is  one.  There  are  not  two  general  schemes 
or  plans  of  creation,  which  are  in-  conflict,  or  contrary 
the  one  to  the  other.  But  there  is  perfect  harmony 
throuohout,  shovvinrr  that  one  infinite  mind  conceived 
the  whole  plan.  Thus,  it  is  certain,  that,  without  a 
moral  constitution,  there  would  have  been  no  scheme 
of  o-race — the  one  was  introductory  to  the  other.  And 
it  is  equally  clear,  that,  without  a  material  creation, 
there  could  have  been  no  moral  system  ;  and  that  the 
former  was  but  the  foundation,  on  which  the  latter 
has  been  built.  The  three  systems  are  not  three  dif- 
ferent schemes,  but  three  parts  of  one  and  the  same 
scheme,  related  together  as  three  parts  of  one  build- 
in  cr,  havine  the  same  architect. 

2.  Another  inference  from  the  theme  which  has 
been  discussed,  has  reference  to  the  personality  of 
God.  God  must  be  a  peu"son.  A  purpose  is  an  act, 
a  decision,  a  decree  of  an  intelligent  will ;  and  there 
must  be  a  mind  to  act,  to  decree,  or  to  resolve.  If 
therefore,  we  take  the  Scriptures  as  authority,  we 
must  believe  in  Goci,  and  worship  Him  as  a  Divine 
Personality. 

What  if  we  know  not  how  He  exists  ?  For  that 
matter,  we  know  not  how  we  ourselves  exist.  But  we 
know  the  fact  that  we  do  exist.  And  yet,  some  great 
philosophers  have  even  doubted  the  fact  of  their  own 
existence,  because  of  the  mystery  involved.  There 
was  some  sort  of  consistency  in  this,  at  least.  For,  if 
they  deny  the  existence  of  God,  because  it  is  incom- 
prehensible, to  be  consistent,  they  should  with  Fichte, 
deny  that  anything  exists  but  a  dream  ;  for  this  was 
the  conclusion  to  which  that  philosopher  was  led  by 
his  false  reasoning. 


32  MOSES   AM)    THE    PII  II.OSoPlIEKS. 

I  will  not  licre  insist  on  what  the  Scriptures  teach, 
as  to  the  personality  of  God.  The  doctrine  is  taught 
from  (lenesis  to  Revelation.  As  to  the  difficulty  of 
compreliending  it.  I  do  not  see  how  any  one  can  make 
this  a  serious  objection,  who  believes  that  he  himself 
has  a  mind,  and  that  he  is,  himself,  a  person.  No  one 
but  a  materialist,  or  atheist,  can  deny  the  personality 
of  God.  But  for  the  same  reason  that  he  denies  the 
existence  of  God,  he  denies  the  existence  of  any  mind 
whatever,  even  his  own. 

3.  Again,  in  the  subject  unfolded  in  this  chapter,  we 
have  a  light  thrown  upon  the  profoundest  mystery 
that  ever  exercised  the  mind  of  angel  or  man — namely, 
the  mastery  as  to  how  the  divine  attributes  of  justice 
and  Mercy  could  be  harmonized,  whereby  God  could 
be  just,  and  yet  clear  the  guilty — or  save  sinners  while 
yet  the  law  remains  in  force.  As  we  have  before 
seen,  there  was  no  finite  intelligence,  that  could  have 
discovered  a  solution  of  this  problem.  But  it  has 
been  gloriously  wrought  out,  in  the  development  of 
the  eternal  purpose  in  Christ !  There  is  no  conflict 
now  between  the  divine  attributes.  "Mercy  and 
truth  are  met  together;  righteousness  and  peace  have 
kissed  each  other." 

This  was  the  practical  question,  which  concerned  a 
w^orld  lying  in  wickedness,  and  groaning  for  long  ages 
under  the  bondao^e  of  sin  and  death — how  could  a  sat- 
isfaction  be  i-endered  to  eternal  Justice — how  could 
the  wrath  of  an  angry  God  against  sin  be  appeased  ? 
To  shed  light  on  this  question  has  been  the  Alpha  and 
Omega,  or  the  end  and  aim  of  all  the  religious  systems 
that  have  pretended  to  be  revelations  from  heaven  in 


THE    FINAL    CAUSE    OF    ALL   THINGS.  33 

all  time — to  show  unto  the  children  of  men,  how  they 
could  be  restored  to  the  favor  of  the  Deity,  and  be 
saved  from  the  consequences  of  sin. 

The  Gospel  is  the  only  system  that  contains  a  full 
and  complete  solution  of  this  great  problem.  It  was 
the  system,  therefore,  of  which  the  world  stood  in 
need.  It  is  adapted  to  the  perishing  condition  of  the 
human  race ;  and  by  any  other  plan,  it  is  impossible 
to  conceive  how  there  could  have  been  either  grace 
or  salvation. 

The  attributes  existed  eternally  in  the  divine  nature, 
in  a  state  of  glorious  harmony.  And  when  God  the 
Father  said,  far  back  in  the  counsels  of  eternity — / 
luill  ordain  a  moral  constihition- — I zoill publish  the  Holy 
Law,  that  my  intelligent  subjects  may  have  some  per- 
ception and  knowledge  of  the  beauty  of  holiness,  and  re- 
joice therein  with  joy  luispeakable  and  fnll  of  glory — 
and  when  the  eternal  Spirit,  one  of  the  persons  in  the 
glorious  Godhead,  said,  But  they  ivill  break  the  moral 
co7istitutio7i,  they  will  fall  tmdcr  the  sentence  of  a  broken 
law,  into  the  condemnation  of  death — then  the  eternal 
Son  responded — /  zvill  bring  deliverance,  for  I  have 
found  out  a  ransom  ;  Lo,  I  come,  in  the  vohune  of  the 
Book  it  is  written  of  me,  to  do  thy  zuill,  O  God  I 

And  this  counsel  prevailed.  The  eternal  decree  was 
ratified  in  eternity.  It  was  the  covenant  of  blood  accom- 
plished in  time,  though  agreed  on  before  time  began. 

AN    OBJECTION    CONSIDERED. 

The  author  would  here  state,  that  he  could  not, 
without  violence  to  his  own  feelings,  close  this  chapter 
without  a    passing   notice  of  an   objection   that   has 


34  MOSES    AND   Tlir:    PHILOSOPHERS. 

sometimes  been  urged  against  tliis  doctrine  of  ''The 
Eternal  Purpose'^  in  Christ  Jesus.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  discuss  this  objection  at  any  length,  nor  would 
there  be  space  for  this.  The  objection  simply  says, 
that  the  doctrine  seems  to  make  God  the  author  of 
sin.  But  this  objection  is  more  apparent  than  real. 
For  God  is  not,  and  He  cannot  be  the  author  of  sin. 
Calvinists  and  Arminians,  who  are  the  parties  in  this 
controversy,  will  agree  in  this  proposition,  that  God  is 
not  the  author  of  sin. 

But  suppose  it  should  be  found  that  the  doctrine  of 
an  "eternal  purpose"  does  make  God  the  author  of 
sin,  how  can  we  get  rid  of  the  difficulty  ?  The  doc- 
trine is  there  stated  in  the  express  words  of  Paul,  and 
all  parties  are  equally  bound  to  receive  it. 

"The  eternal  purpose,"  was  the  purpose  of  grace, 
or  of  salvation  throuijh  Christ.  But  as  there  could 
have  been  no  salvation  without  sin,  the  existence  of 
one  is  necessarily  implied  or  involved  in  the  other. 
But  God  did  not  ordain  the  existence  of  sin  as  an  end, 
but  only  as  a  means.  There  is  no  being  in  all  the 
universe  w'ho  is  more  opposed  to  sin  than  God,  And 
He  brought  the  universe  into  existence  to  show  His 
opposition  to  sin,  and  to  display  His  holiness.  But 
as  this  could  not  be  done  without  the  existence  of  sin, 
He  permitted  sin  as  a  means  to  an  end.  The  end 
which  He  eternally  purposed,  was  the  exhibition  of 
His  grace  and  glory  in  Christ. 

Ever  since  I  have  been  capable  of  reflecting  at  all 
on  this  deep  and  involved  question,  my  mind  has 
rested  entirely  satisfied  with  the  argument,  which  I 
here  put  in  the  fewest  words  possible,  thus; 


THE    FINAL    CAUSE    OF    ALL    THINGS.  35 

When  God  determined  to  make  man  a  free  moral 
agent,  He  had  to  make  him  with  a  capacity  for 
sinning. 

If  man  could  not  sin,  it  would  be  a  contradiction  to 
speak  of  him  as  a  moral  agent. 

If  man  had  no  capacity  for  sinning,  it  would  be 
equally  a  contradiction  to  say  that  he  could  be  holy,  in 
the  sense  that  there  could  be  merit  in  his  holiness. 
He  would  be  a  creature  of  necessity,  as  materialists 
say  that  he  is. 

If  God  had  not  made  man  in  His  own  image,  and 
given  him  an  intelligent  free-will,  and  a  moral  nature, 
he  could  have  had  no  knowledge  of  the  moral  perfec- 
tions of  God.  What  ideas  can  a  materialist,  a  dog,  a 
monkey,  or  any  other  animal  governed  absolutely  by 
physical  law,  and  without  a  moral  nature,  entertain 
concerning  the  character  of  God  ? 

For  my  part,  I  can  say,  that  I  would  not  be  willing 
to  be  cast  down  from  my  position  as  a  subject  of  God's 
moral  government,  to  occupy  the  highest  position  ever 
created  under  the  material  system.  I  could  not  vol- 
untarily relinquish  or  give  back  the  gift  conferred  on 
me — the  immortal  spirit — the  likeness  of  the  Divine 
nature,  qualifying  me  to  know  God,  to  enjoy  Him, 
and  to  hold  communion  with  Him  forever — I  would 
not  resiorn  this  ri^ht,  if  I  could  be  the  glorious  sun 
himself,  that  is  the  centre  of  our  system — that  ever 
shines  to  the  glory  of  God,  but  yet  has  no  knowledge 
of  God. 

No  creature  on  this  earth  has  this  knowledge  ex- 
cept  man.  And  man  has  it  because  he  was  placed 
under  a  moral  government,  made  in  the  image  of  God, 


36  MOSES    AND    TlIK    PHILOSOPHERS. 

and  cnJowcd  with  an  intelligent  free-will,  capable  of 
frood  or  evil,  and  of  choosino;"  between  them. 

Now  the  question  is,  whether,  as  the  Supreme 
Ruler,  God  had  the  right  to  ordain  a  moral  system, 
and  the  existence  of  free  moral  agents,  with  the 
impress  of  His  own  image  upon  them,  capable  of 
knowinor  him,  and  of  livino;  in  the  li^ht  of  His  coun- 
tenance  forever. 

But,  and  I  say  It  with  reverence.  He  could  not  ordain 
a  moral  system,  and  create  an  order  of  free  moral 
agents,  w^ith  a  capacity  to  know  and  choose  good, 
without  at  the  same  time  endowintr  them  with  an 
equal  capacity,  to  know  and  choose  evil.  This  is 
implied  in  the  very  nature  of  a  moral  government, 
and  of  moral  agency.  If  man  had  no  power  nor 
capacity  to  choose  evil,  or  to  do  evil,  he  would  be  no 
more  a  free  agent  than  a  stock  or  a  stone,  and  not  any 
more  *  responsible.  The  power  to  obey  any  law, 
implies  the  power  to  disobey  It.  If  Adam  in  paradise 
had  possessed  no  power  to  disobey  the  command, 
there  would  have  been  no  merit  in  obedience,  and  he 
would  not  have  been  a  free  moral  agent.  He  had  just 
the  same  power  to  disobey  as  to  obey.  And  God  gave 
him  that  absolute  freedom  necessary  to  constitute  him 
a  moral  agent,  leaving  to  his  own  will  to  turn  the 
scale,  and  decide  for  himself  whether  to  obey  or  dis- 
obey, whether  to  be  holy  or  unholy. 

God  did  not  ordain  that  man  should  sin.  He  did 
not  put  any  constraint  on  his  will,  to  force  him  to  sin ; 
for  then,  there  would  have  been  no  sin  in  the  case. 
On  the  other  hand  if  God  had  foreordained  that  man 
should  not  sin  ;  or  had  placed  him   in  such  circum- 


THE    FINAL    CAUSE    OF    ALL    THINGS.  37 

Stances  that  he  could  not  have  sinned,  there  would 
have  been  no  merit  in  his  obedience,  and  he  would 
not  have  been  a  moral  agent. 

So  then,  the  very  nature  of  moral  government  re- 
quired that  man  be  endowed  with  such  faculties  and 
powers,  and  that  he  be  placed  in  such  circumstances 
as  to  be  equally  capable  of  saying,  /  will,  or,  /  zuill 
not  obey.  /  zvill,  or,  /  will  not  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the 
tree. 

Of  course  God  foreknew  what  the  result  would  be 
— foreknew  that  man  would  sin,  for  he  is  omniscient — 
and  He  determined  to  overrule  the  sin  for  his  own 
glory.  And  no  one  but  a  materialist  can  say,  that  He 
has  not  so  overruled  it.  This  is  the  thought  to  be 
developed  in  the  last  chapter  of  this  volume. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Doctrine  of  the   Trinity. 

An  essential  doctrine — No  Christianity  witliout  it — Three  persons  and  three 
wills — Orthodoxy  and  Unitarianism — The  Nicene  creed — How  Arius  fell — 
Mr.  Cook's  scientific  method — It  is  rationalism — Nature  of  Christianity — The 
P'ather  devised — The  Son  sealed  the  covenant — Agency  of  the  third  person — 
Direct  testimony  of  Scripture — The  Divine  persons  associated  in  creation  and 
redemption — The  plural  name  Elohim — The  apostolic  benediction — The  at- 
tributes of  God — The  works  of  God — Worship  rendered  to  Jesus — lie  claimed 
to  be  Divine — Titles  of  God — The  mystery — Many  things  mysterious — Nine 
theses  or  postulates — Supplementary  remarks. 

THE  lamp  of  reason  can  throw  no  light  on  the 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  We  know  nothing  of 
this  high  and  mysterious  theme,  except  by  Revela- 
tion. But  the  doctrine  is  clearly  taught  in  the  Word 
of  God.  It  is  one  of  the  essential  doctrines  of  Chris- 
tianity, There  could  be  no  Christian  system,  and  no 
Christian  Revelation,  if  this  doctrine  were  not  true. 

Before  stating  the  Scriptural  argument  in  tavor  of 
the  doctrine,  I  will  notice,  brielly,  the  principal  objec- 
tions which  are  frequently  urged  against  it.  These 
are,  that,  it  is  against  right  reason,  and  that  it  implies 
a  contradiction. 

Wt;  know  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  is  above 
reason,  but  it  is  not  illogical  to  say  that  it  is  not  con- 
trary to  reason.  No  one  can  believe  the  doctrine  in 
the  orthodox  or  Scriptural  sense,  who  denies  that 
(38) 


DOCTRINE    OF    THE    TRINITY. 


39 


there  are  three  wills,  or  three  divine  persons  in  the 
Godhead.  Any  creed  or  system  of  faith  that  comes 
short  of  this,  must  fall  below  a  Christian  faith,  and 
below  the  standard  of  Christian  orthodoxy. 

We  do  not  conceive  of  a  person  without  a  ivill. 
Materialists  and  pantheists  dtny  the  existence  of  a 
personal  God.  But  rationalists  generally,  with  some 
exceptions  admit  the  personality  of  God.  They  be- 
lieve, however,  in  only  one  divine  person — God  the 
Father.  They  do  not  believe  in  three  divine  persons, 
as  they  think  this  would  be  to  make  three  Gods. 
Hence,  they  do  not  believe  that  Christ  is  God,  nor 
that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  God.  The  orthodox  believe 
in  three  divine  persons  in  the  Godhead,  and  )-et  they 
hold  to  the  perfect  unity  of  God.  This  is  the  differ- 
ence between  orthodoxy  and  Unitarianism. 

There  is  no  doctrine  of  more  importance  than  the 
Trinity,  since  on  the  proper  understanding  and  recep- 
tion of  it  by  faith,  is  suspended  the  destiny  of  the  soul 
itself.  As  before  stated,  it  is  purely  a  doctrine  of 
Revelation,  concerning  which  no  philosophical  specu- 
lations can  be  made,  and  it  has  not  been  revealed  in 
the  inner  consciousness. 

Ever  since  the  Nicene  creed  was  declared,  it  is  be- 
lieved, that  the  Church  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  in  all  its 
branches,  including  the  Greek,  Catholic,  Protestant 
and  Episcopal,  have  held  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity 
as  teaching  the  existence  of  three  divine  persons  in 
the  Godhead ;  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost. 
Arius  was  the  first  great  heresiarch  who  denied  the 
doctrine.  He  philosophized,  and  theorized  when  he 
should   not,  and   to  this,  doubtless,  his  fall  was   to  be 


40  MOSES    AND    THE    PIIILOSOPIIEIiS. 

attributed.  Oh,  this  pride  and  madness  of  the  human 
intellect !  how  many  of  the  most  gifted  geniuses  have 
been  cast  down  by  it !  • 

There  has  been  no  more  striking  or  melancholy  in- 
.  stance;  of  the  kind,  than  that  which  is  now  prom- 
inently before  the  world.  A  man  who  has  hardly  his 
peer,  and  not  his  superior  as  a  scholar  and  an  orator, 
attempts  to  bring  down  this  high  and  mysterious  doc- 
trine, under  the  scalpel  of  his  feeble  intellect,  and 
to  treat  and  discuss  it  by  what  he  calls  the  scientific 
uielliod.  The  logical  effect  of  such  an  attempt  must 
be  a  departure  from  Bible  truth  to  rationalism.  But 
Mr.  Joseph  Cook  claims  to  be  an  orthodox  Trini- 
tarian. And  yet,  he  is  doing  more  at  this  hour,  than 
any  other  one  man,  on  account  of  his  great  reputa- 
tion, to  undermine,  in  the  minds  of  many,  the  essen- 
tial principles  of  Christianity.  By  following  up  his 
scientific  method,  he  makes  the  Divine  Trinity  to  be 
simply  "■three  manifestations^^  or  ''three  revelations''  of 
God.  He  does  not  think  there  can  be  three  distinct 
divine  persons,  or  tJiree  wills  in  the  Godhead.  He 
cannot  comprehend  why  it  should  be  so,  and  it  has 
never  bf-en  revealed  in  his  inner  consciousness.  In 
his  popular  lectures,  he  recognizes  but  one  divine  per- 
son in  the  Godhead,  and  but  one  Will,  but  there  are 
three  manifestations,  or  three  outward  revelations  of 
God.  This  is  the  dictate  of  natural  reason,  and  this 
conclusion  comes  from  the  scientific  method.  It  is 
an  attempt  to  be  wise  above  what  is  written. 

It  is  with  sincere  grief  we  make  this  personal  allu- 
sion to  one  of  the  greatest  livincr  o-eniuses.  But  his 
lectures  are  popular,  and  he  is  comrr.anding  the  at- 


DOCTRINE    OF    THE    TRINITY.  4I 

tentlon  of  the  world  just  now,  and  of  course,  many 
will  be  perverted  by  his  plausible  sophisms.  To  show 
that  Mr.  Cook  is  not  an  orthodox  Trinitarian,  as  he 
claims,  but  a  rationalist  in  the  freest  sense  of  the  term, 
take  this  statement  of  his  views,  in  his  own  words, 
from  one  of  his  lectures: 

"  But  there  are  not  three  persons  ;  God  is  one  in 
the  strict  sense  ;  for  natural  law  is  a  unit  in  the  uni- 
verse, and  reveals  but  one  will.  Three  revelations  of 
God  are  all  one  person.  Now  is  that  mystic  ?  Or 
does  that  straightforward  use  of  the  scientific  method 
give  a  richer  view  of  human  history,  a  richer  view  of 
the  human  soul,  a  richer  view  of  external  nature  than 
mere  deism,  or  theism,  or  materialism,  or  pantheism, 
however  fortified  by  modern  science,  can  present  to 
you  '^  " 

The  above  Is  sufficient.  It  is  an  unmistakable  ex- 
pression of  Mr.  Cook's  belief.  It  is  true  he  may  not 
be  a  deist,  a  materialist,  or  a  pantheist,  but  he  is  no 
more  a  Trinitarian  or" an  orthodox  Christian,  than  was 
Dr.  Channing  or  Theodore  Parker. 

Carrying  out  his  method,  Mr.  Cook  has  to  ignore 
the  essential  doctrines  of  the  evangelical  system,  as 
the  vicarious  atonement  of  Christ,  and  justification  by 
faith  in  the  righteousness  of  Christ.  It  would  be  easy 
to  show  this  by  abundant  quotations  from  his  lectures. 
But  It  would  make  this  chapter  too  long,  and  there  is 
no  necessity.  I  proceed  now  to  the  Scriptural  method 
of  proving  the  doctrine.  In  doing  this,  I  shall  pre- 
sent the  argument  under  two  greneral  heads,  as 
first,  the  argument  drawn  from  the  essential  nature 
of    Christianity ;    and    secondly,    the    argument    as 


42  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

founded  on  tlie  positive  and  clear  statements  of  the 
Bible. 

I.  The  first  argument,  then,  in  favor  of  a  Trinity  of 
persons  in  the  Godhead,  is  drawn  from  the  essential 
nature  of  Christianity.  If  the  doctrine  were  not  true, 
there  could  be  no  such  thing-  as  Christianity  in  the 
world.  For  what  is  Christianity  ?  In  a  word,  it  is 
the  system  of  Jesus  Christ.  But  who  or  what  was 
Christ  ?  If  Christ  had  been  only  a  natural  man, 
would  there  have  been  any  Christianity  in  tlie  world  ? 
We  have  seen  in  the  preceding  chapter,  as  also  in 
the  chapter  on  "A  Mixed  Dispensation,"  that  Chris- 
tianity is  that  system  or  scheme  of  Grace,  by  which 
God  determined  to  save,  throufdi  the  sufferint^s  and 
death  of  Christ,  all  who  should  believe  in  Him.  That 
is  somethincr  that  is  far  above  human  reason,  though 
not  contrary  to  it.  It  was  shown  that  salvation  was 
impossible  under  the  broken  law  except  through  an 
Almighty,  Self-existent,  Divine  Redeemer,  and  that 
Jesus,  having  these  qualifications,  was  competent,  and 
that  no  other  in  the  universe  was  competent,  to  make 
the  atonement  for  a  lost  race.  This  proposition  was 
elaborated  at  some  length,  and  if  the  -reader  has  for- 
gotten the  argument,  he  should  read  those  chapters 
again. 

When  God  made  man,  it  would  seem  as  if  there 
was  a  council  called  to  deliberate  on  the  question,  how 
shall  man  be  made?  And  the  answer  to  the  question, 
"Let  us  make  man  in  our  image,  after  our  likeness," 
clearly  implies  that  there  was  a  rLURAi.rrv,  not  of  Gods, 
but  of  Divine  persons,  in  that  council. 

And  when  man  fell,  the  same  council  sat  again,  may 


DOCTRINE   OF   THE    TRINITY.  43 

we  not  believe?  and  when  the  question  was,  how  shall 
man  be  saved?  then  the  voice  of  one  of  those  Divine 
persons,  because  He  was  able  and  willing  to  under- 
take the  mighty  task,  was  heard,  saying:  "I  have 
found  out  a  ransom" — "  I  come,  in  the  volume  of  the 
Book  it  is  written  of  me,  to  do  thy  will,  O  God." 
Jesus  Himself  said,  after  He  had  made  His  appearance 
in  the  flesh  :  "  God  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave 
His  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in 
Him,  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life." 
This  is  Christianity.  This  Is  the  sum  and  substance 
of  the  Gospel.  To  leave  out  the  doctrine  of  the  atone- 
ment, through  the  blood  of  Christ,  would  be  the  de- 
struction of  the  system.  It  would  be  the  same  as  the 
evisceration  of  a  natural  body,  and  extracting  its  life. 
But  there  could  be  no  atonement  through  the  blood 
of  Christ,  if  He  was  only  a  natural  man,  as  all  ration- 
alists must  believe  He  was.  For  It  would  certainly  be 
contrary  to  reason,  to  say,  that  any  natural  man,  could 
be  made  a  substitute  for  a  whole  race  of  sinful  belng-s, 
consisting'  of  countless  millions  of  individuals,  taklne 
their  law-place,  and  making  a  propitiation  for  them, 
that  would  be  acceptable  to  God,  and  satisfy  the  de- 
mands of  the  \a.w. 

All  rationalists,  therefore,  who  deny  the  Divinity  of 
Christ,  do  and  must,  logically,  reject  the  atonement. 
They  may  believe  that  He  was  a  prophet — a  profound 
teacher — a  great  moralist — that  He  died  as  a  martyr, 
etc.,  but  they  do  not  and  they  cannot  believe  that  He 
died  as  "  The  Lamb  of  God  to  take  away  the  sin  of 
the  world,"  according  to  the  Scriptures;  or,  as  it 
is  .In    the    Book  of   Revelation,   that    He   was  "The 


44  MOSES    AND    THE    PlIILOSOPIIEKS. 

Lamb  of  God  slain  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world." 

In  the  scheme  of  redemption  developed  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, we  understand  that  each  of  the  persons  in  the 
Godhead  had,  or  has,  a  special  and  official  connection 
with  that  scheme.  God  the  Father  is  the  author — 
He  devised  the  system  of  salvation.  Jesus  the  second 
person  executed  the  scheme — He  sealed  the  Covenant 
of  redemption  with  His  blood.  And  the  Holy  Ghost, 
the  third  person  in  the  Trinity,  "  takes  of  the  things 
of  Christ,  and  shows  them  unto  us."  It  is  the  office 
of  die  Spirit  to  apply  "  the  blood  of  Sprinkling  "to  the 
hearts  of  all  the  heirs  of  salvation,  and  through  sanc- 
tification  and  regeneration,  to  prepare  them  for  glory. 

Now  it  is  very  certain,  as  before  remarked,  that 
there  could  have  been  no  scheme  of  mercy — no 
Christianity  if  there  had  not  been  a  plurality  of  persons 
in  the  Godhead.  The  scheme  of  redemption  is  no 
ordinary  work.  It  is  the  crowning  work  of  the  Al- 
mighty for  w^hich  creation  stands  ;  and  for  which  all 
other  works  were  made,  requiring  the  putting  forth 
of  all  His  infinite  perfections,  and  the  Official  work 
and  agency  of  each  person  in  the  Trinity,  to  perfect, 
and  carry  on  that  scheme  through  all  ages.  That 
Building  of  God  is  going  up.  The  polished  stones 
are  beine"  gathered  one  after  another,  and  set  in  that 
Temple  of  Grace.  When  it  shall  be  completed,  the 
top-stone  is  to  be  "  brought  forth  with  shoutings  of 
grace,  grace  unto  it !" 

II.  But  the  main  arofument  for  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity,  is  founded  on  the  positive  and  direct  testi- 
mony of  the  Scriptures.     This  argument  is  cumulative. 


DOCTRINE    OF    THE   TRINITY.  45 

and  perfectly  satisfactory  to  all,  who  are  willing-  to 
acknowledge  the  inspiration  of  the  Bible.  For  the 
sake  of  clearness,  we  shall  present  this  testimony  as 
arranged  under  several  heads,  or  in  different  classes 
of  texts,  as, 

I.  The  texts  which  speak  of  the  several  persons  in 
the  Godhead,  and  as  conjoined  and  associated,  and 
equally  concerned  in  carrying  on  the  affairs  of  the  uni- 
verse. Thus,  it  is  said,  in  i  John  v,  7,  "  For  there 
are  three  that  bear  record  in  heaven,  the  Father,  the 
Word,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  these  three  are  one." 
Again,  when  Jesus  had  laid  the  foundation  of  his 
Mediatorial  Kingdom,  and  when  He  gave  the  com- 
mission to  His  ministers  to  go  into  all  the  world,  and 
preach  the  kingdom,  He  gave  the  commission  in 
these  words :  Matt,  xxviii.  19:  "Go  ye  therefore,  and 
teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  teach- 
inof  them  to  observe  all  thinpfs  whatsoever  I  have 
commanded  you  ;  and  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world."  Baptism  is  the  initiatory 
ordinance,  or  the  ordinance  that  introduces  subjects 
into  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  And  the  command  to 
baptize  them  in  the  name,  or  into  the  name  of  the  Fa- 
ther, and  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  signifies  that 
they  were  to  belong  to  a  kingdom,  ruled  and  governed 
equally,  and  conjointly  by  these  three  Divine  persons, 
"  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost."  This  is 
what  all  must  understand.  The  words,  otherwise, 
have  no  meaning.  It  would  seem  almost  like  blas- 
phemy to  associate  the  name  of  any  mere  natural 
man,  or  the  name  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  if  as  some  believe 


46  MOSES    AND    THE    IMnr.OSOPHEKS. 

the  Holy  Ghost  only  signifies  spirit,  or  the  air — our 
breath,  with  the  name  of  the  everlasting^  God,  in  the 
equal  possession,  control,  and  government  of  His  king- 
dom. To  do  this  would  be  impious,  if  not  blasphe- 
mous. More  than  this.  Jesus  promised  to  be  with  His 
ministers  in  the  execution  of  their  commissions,  to 
the  end  of  the  world,  or  in  all  time,  which  promise  He 
could  not  have  given,  if  He  were  only  a  natural  man. 

Again,  in  the  passage  quoted  before  for  another  pur- 
pose, God  is  represented  as  saying,  Gen.  i.  26,  "Let 
us  make  man  in  our  image,  after  our  likeness."  As 
we  cannot  suppose  that  God  was  here  speaking  to  other 
Gods,  or  that  He  was  addressing  inferior  creatures, 
when  He  said,  "  let  us  make  man^'  there  is  no  other 
conclusion,  but  that  one  of  the  Divine  persons  in  the 
Godhead,  was  speaking  to  the  other  persons  in  the  God- 
head. The  Hebrew  name  of  God,  "  ELOHIM,"'  being 
in  the  plural  number,  conveys  the  idea  of  a  plurality  of 
persons  in  the  Godhead,  as  it  would  be  against  the 
whole  tenor  of  the  Scriptures  to  say  that  it  means  a 
plurality  of  Gods.  There  is  but  one  God.  This  is  the 
doctrine  taught  throughout  the  Bible.  But  Elohim  is 
plural,  signifying  more  than  one.  Therefore,  it  must 
denote  a  plurality  of  persons  in  the  Deity. 

When  a  benediction  is  pronounced  in  the  name  of 
God,  it  is  usually  in  the  name  of  the  three  divine  per- 
sons:  as  2  Cor.  xiii.  14:  "The  grace  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  the  love  of  God,  and  the  communion 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  be  with  you  all.  Amen."  What 
does  this  mean?  The  words  are  pronounced  with 
sacred  solemnity  in  all  our  churches  ever)'  Sabbath. 
It  is  an  invocation — a  prayer  that  the  grace — the  favor 


DOCTRINE    OF    THE    TRINITY.  47 

— the  loving  compassion,  or  mercy  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  shall  be  with  you  all.  But  if  He  was  but  a 
natural  man,  as  He  has  been  dead  and  in  the  grave 
for  many  centuries,  how  can  His  grace,  or  His  loving 
compassion,  be  with  all  of  us  forever?  And  what 
solemn  mockery  to  link  His  name  with  that  of  God, 
and  to  pray  for  His  presence,  and  His  grace  to  be 
everywhere,  and  with  every  one,  as  if  He  were  omni- 
present, when  He  was  only  a  common  man!  And  if 
the  Holy  Ghost  is  not  a  divine  person — nothing  but 
the  breath  that  heaves  our  luno^s,  it  would  be  nothing- 
short  of  blasphemy  to  associate  the  name  with  that 
of  God,  in  religious  worship,  and  to  invoke  the  bless- 
ing, and  the  communion  or  fellowship  thereof,  to  be 
with  us  all  forever.  Yet  the  rationalistic  preacher 
does  this,  every  time  he  pronounces .  the  apostolic 
benediction.  It  is  not  necessary  to  refer  to  other 
texts  under  this  head. 

2.  In  the  second  place,  the  attributes  which  are  pe- 
culiar to  God,  and  which  belong  to  Him  alone,  are 
indiscriminately  ascribed  to  the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy 
Ghost,  as  well  as  to  the  Father;  as  omnipotence,  om- 
niscience, etc.  Thus,  one  of  the  apostles  ascribes 
omniscience  to  Jesus  directly,  saying,  "Thou  knowest 
all  things,"  which  is  a  prerogative  of  God  alone.  An- 
other ascribed  the  same  attribute  to  Him,  saying,  that 
He  needed  not  that  any  should  testify  of  man,  for  He 
knew  what  was  in  man.  The  same  attribute  is  re- 
peatedly ascribed  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  when  Christ 
said:  "But  the  Comforter,  which  Is  the  Holy  Ghost, 
whom  the  Father  will  send  in  my  name,  He  shall 
teach  you   all    things."     Of  course,   this   Implies   all 


48  MOSES    AND   THE    PHILOSOPHERS, 

knowledge.  But  we  notice  also  in  this  passage,  the 
interest  that  each  of  the  divine  persons  has  in  the 
scheme  of  salvation.  The  leather  sends  the  Com- 
forter— the  Comforter  is  sent  in  the  name  of  the  Son 
— and  when  sent,  He  teaches  all,  believers  all  things. 
Omnipresence  is  also  affirmed  of  the  Spirit,  as  when 
it  is  said,  "  He  shall  abide  with  you  forever,"  and 
"He  dwelleth  in  you."  Believers  are  scattered  the 
world  over — and  He  dwells  in  all,  and  abides  with  all, 
and  forever.  The  Spirit  is  also  called  *'  the  Eternal 
Spirit."  This  attribute  of  eternity,  which  belongs  to 
God  alone,  proves  that  the  Spirit  is  God. 

3.  There  is  another  class  of  texts  which  ascribe  the 
work  of  creation,  and  other  works  of  God,  to  the  Son, 
and  also  to  the  Spirit,  showing  that  they  are  God,  or 
that  they  have  a  oneness  with  God  the  Father.  The 
work  of  Creation  is  peculiar  to  God.  "  In  the  Begin- 
ning," Moses  tells  us,  "God  created  the  heavens  and 
the  earth."  But  John  tells  us  that  all  things  were 
made,  or  created  by  the  Word — which  Word  was  made 
flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us.  The  Holy  Spirit  also 
must  have  had  something  to  do  with  that  general  work 
of  creation.  For  in  the  account  of  creation  written  by 
Moses,  it  is  said  :  "  The  earth  was  without  form  and 
void,  and  darkness  was  upon  the  face  of  the  deep. 
And  the  Spirit  of  God  moved  upon  the  face  of  the 
waters."  The  psalmist  says,  in  his  psalms,  "  By  His 
Spirit,  the  Lord  hath  garnished  the  heavens."  The 
Holy  Spirit  is  the  author  of  life — natural  life,  and 
Spiritual  life.  It  was  the  Spirit  that  quickened  the 
body  of  Christ,  by  which  He  was  raised  from  the 
dead,  and  thus  declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God.     All 


DOCTRINE    OF    THE   TRINITY.  49 

who  are  dead  In  trespasses  and  sins,  and  are  made  alive 
to  God,  are  said  to  be  quickened  by  the  Spirit.  All 
life  Is  from  God.  "  The  Father  hath  life  in  himself," 
so  Jesus  said  ;  and  also  hath  given  to  the  Son  to  have 
life  in  himself.  By  His  own  voice  and  power,  He  raised 
Lazarus  from  the  dead.  He  said  to  some  of  His  disci- 
ples, '  I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life."  To  the  un- 
believing Jews,  He  said,  "  the  dead  shall  hear  the  voice 
of  the  Son  of  God,  and  they  that  hear  shall  live  ; "  and 
also,  "  the  hour  is  coming  in  the  which  all  that  are  in  the 
graves  shall  hear  his  voice,  and  shall  come  forth,  they 
that  have  done  good,  unto  the  resurrection  of  life, 
and  they  that  have  done  evil,  unto  the  resurrection  of 
damnation."  No  one  can  receive  these  sayings  of 
the  Son  of  God,  and  consistently  deny  His  Godhead. 

4.  The  class  of  texts  which  authorize  and  require 
divine  worship  to  be  rendered  to  Jesus,  clearly  estab- 
lish His  divinity.  There  is  no  being  entided  to  wor- 
ship, according  to  the  Scriptures,  except  God,  and  all 
other  worship  is  declared  to  be  idolatry.  Rationalists 
who  believe  that  Jesus  was  only  a  human  being,  and 
not  divine,  cannot,  and  do  not  worship  Him  as  God, 
They  could  not,  without  stultifying  themselves,  or 
denying  In  practice  what  they  profess  in  words. 
But  we  have  not  only  the  recorded  fact  that  the  disci- 
ples, on  repeated  occasions,  offered  divine  homage  to 
Christ,  but  this  worship  Is  positively  enjoined  on 
angels  as  well  as  men.  For  it  Is  written,  "  when  He 
bringeth  the  First  begotten  into  the  world,  He  says, 
let  all  the  angels  of  God  worship  him." 

5.  Christ  claimed  to  be  divine — to  be  the  Son  of 
God — and  equal   to  the  Father.       The  texts  of  this 


50  MOSES    AND    TIIK    IMIILOSOPIFZRS. 

nature  are  clear  and  empliatic.  and  it  is  impossible  to 
conceive  how  a  rationalist  can  dispose  of  them.  He  said, 
"  I  and  my  Father  are  One."  And  when  Philip  asked 
Him.  saying-,  "show  us  the  Father,"  He  said,  "have 
I  been  so  long  time  with  \ou,  and  yet  hast  thou  not 
seen  me,  Philip?  Delievest  thou  not  that  I  am  in  the 
Father,  and  the  Father  in  me  ?  "  The  greatest  of  the 
aposdes  .said  of  Jesus,  that  being  four.d  in  the  like- 
ness of  God,  and  being  the  express  image  of  His  per- 
son, "  He  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with 
God."  On  one  occasion,  it  is  recorded  that  the  Jews 
accused  Christ  of  blasphemy,  because,  as  they  said, 
that  he  being  a  man,  made  himself  to  be  God.  If 
Christ  had  been  only  a  man,  and  an  honest  and  true 
man,  he  would  have  repelled  the  charge  as  false,  for  it 
would  have  been  blasphemy,  if  he  were  not  God. 
But  instead  of  denying  the  charge  he  vindicates  His 
claim  to  be  equal  with  God,  by  appealing  direcdy  to 
His  works,  saying :  "If  I  do  not  the  works  of  my  Father, 
believe  me  not;  but  if  I  do,  though  ye  believe  me  not, 
yet  believe  the  works,  that  )e  may  know  that  I  am  in 
the  Father,  and  the  Father  in  me." 

Now,  if,  when  Jesus  made  this  vindication  of  His 
claims,  He  all  the  time  knew  that  He  had  not  come 
from  God — that  He  had  never  seen  God — and  that 
He  was  but  a  natural  man,  then  certainly  He  was  a 
deceiver,  and  an  impostor,  and  He  was  guilty  of  blas- 
phemy, as  the  Jews  said.  This  is  the  position  of 
every  man,  and  every  rationalistic  preacher  who 
denies  the  proper  divinity  of  Christ. 

6.  There  is  a  class  of  texts  in  which  the  names  and 
the  tides  of  God  are  applied  to  the  Son.  and  to  the 


DOCTRINE    OF   THE   TRINITY.  5 1 

Holy  spirit,  which  could  not  be  the  case,  except  on 
the  supposition,  that  they  are  one  with  the  Father. 
These  texts  are  quite  numerous  ;  such  as  "The  Word 
was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God."  His  name 
shall  be  called  Wonderful,  Counsellor,  the  Mighty 
God,  the  everlasting  Father  " — that  is,  the  Father  of 
eternity.  It  is  Jesus  who  is  repeatedly  styled  "  the 
KiniT  of  kinofs  and  the  Lord  of  lords."  And  if  He  is 
not  to  be  worshipped,  who  is  } 

I  have  not  enumerated  or  referred  to  a  tithe  of  the 
texts  which,  directly  or  indirectly,  show  the  truth  of 
the  doctrine  under  discussion.  But  there  is  no  neces- 
sity for  enumerating  additional  texts.  He  who  can 
ignore  or  explain  away  the  passages  already  given, 
could  do  the  same  with  every  text  in  the  word  of  God. 
And  what  would  be  the  use  of  trying  to  convince  such 
a  person  ? 

As  I  have  before  said,  there  are  some  things  which 
are  above  reason,  though  not  contrary  to  it.  The 
man  is  a  fool  who  determines  to  believe  nothing,  ex- 
cept what  he  can  comprehend.  F^or  what  is  there 
that  any  man  can  fully  comprehend  ?  Can  a  man 
comprehend  the  mode  of  his  own  existence  ?  The 
greatest  scientist  living,  can  tell  nothing  about  it. 
What  presumption  then  even  to  think  of  trying  to 
comprehend  the  mode  of  God's  existence  ?  Can  a  man 
tell  how  the  blood  circulates  in  his  veins  ?  The  fact 
w^s  not  even  known  to  the  wisest  of  the  doctors  for 
thousands  of  years.  And  when  Mr.  Harvey  discov- 
ered only  a  few  years  ago,  that  the  blood  does  circulate 
in  the  veins  of  the  system,  it  is  said,  that  none  of  the 
old  doctors  who  were  cotemporary  with  him,  would 
believe  it. 


52  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

We  can  believe  the  doctrine  of  tlie  Trinity,  only  on 
the  authority  of  Revelation,  And  if  we  reject  it,  we 
reject  all  the  essential  doctrines  of  Christianity,  as  the 
doctrine  of  original  sin,  the  doctrine  of  the  atonement, 
and  the  doctrine  of  regeneration. 

I  have  not  discussed,  nor  shall  I  undertake  to  dis- 
cuss the  manner  or  mode  of  the  Divine  existence. 
Such  an  attempt  would  be  a  sin  of  presumption — one 
of  the  boldest  which  could  be  committed.  I  will  now 
state  several  postulates,  and  then  conclude  this  chap- 
ter with  some  supplementary  remarks  on  a  matter 
which  I  do  not  remember  to  have  seen  discussed  in 
the  writinfrs  of  theolocrians. 

The  postulates  are : 

1.  There  are  three  distinct  persons  in  the  Godhead ; 
the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost, 

2.  In  essence,  or  nature,  these  three  persons  are 
one  and  identical. 

3.  The  mode  or  the  manner  of  the  union  of  these 
Divine  persons  in  the  Godhead,  is  a  mystery,  and 
must  ever  remain  so.  It  lies  beyond  the  limit  of 
human  capacity, 

4.  These  three  Divine  persons  existed  from  eternity 
as  one  God — a  Trinity  in  Unity — a  Triune  God. 

5.  When  Jesus  was  born  in  Bethlehem,  He  began 
to  exist  as  the  God-man — two  natures  united  in  one 
person,  but  not  two  persons  in  one  nature. 

6.  There  is  a  sense  in  which  we  must  believe  that 
the  Son  was  eternally  begotten  ;  but  this  does  not 
imply  any  beginning  of  the  relationship  between  them, 
inasmuch  as  eternity  has  no  beginning. 

7.  There  is  no  confusion  or  mixture  of  the  human 


DOCTRINE    OF   THE   TRINITY.  53 

and  Divine  natures  of  Christ.  He  assumed  humanity, 
that  He  might  redeem  humanity.  It  was  humanity 
that  had  sinned — had  fallen,  and  humanity  had  to  die. 

8.  The  Divinity  of  Christ  gives  efficacy  and  value 
to  the  atonement  made  in  His  human  nature,  because 
of  the  close  and  intimate  union  between  them.  That 
union  is  permanent  and  inseparable,  since  the  moment 
when  it  was  constituted. 

9.  Jesus,  in  His  exaltation  at  the  right  hand  of  God 
above,  has  taken  glorified  humanity  with  Him  ;  and 
that  glorified  humanity,  in  the  person  of  our  Saviour, 
now  occupies,  and  will  forever  occupy,  the  throne  of 
the  universe;  wherefore,  human  nature  has  been 
exalted  above  every  other  nature. 

SUPPLEMENTARY    REMARKS. 

We  have  read  in  the  writings  of  theologians,  and 
we  have  heard  the  same  thins:  in  sermons,  ajjain  and 
again,  that  the  blessedness  of  God  from  eternity,  when 
nothing  existed  but  God,  consisted  in  the  solitary  con- 
templation of  His  own  perfections.  But  we  could 
never  understand  it.  The  thought  is  utterly  repug- 
nant to  all  our  ideas  of  blessedness.  Human  nature 
is  a  social  nature.  We  were  made  for  companion- 
ship, and  we  cannot  conceive  the  idea  of  perfect 
blessedness  in  a  state  of  absolute  solitude. 

But  man  was  made  in  the  imaore  of  God.  This  is 
the  record  made  in  the  very  beginning — "  So  God 
created  man  in  His  own  imaee,  in  the  imaofe  of  God 
created  He  him  ;  male  and  female  created  He  them." 
These  words  form  one  and  the  same  sentence  or 
period.     And  what  we  learn  from  them   is,  that  the 


54  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

Divine  nature  is  a  social  nature,  requiring  companion- 
ship ;  and  therefore,  to  make  man  in  His  own  image, 
it  was  necessary  to  make  him  a  social  bein<r  and  to 
give  him  companionship. 

This  is  not  a  suggestion  of  natural  reason  alone, 
but  it  is  contained  in  the  text  just  quoted,  and  fully 
sustained  by  many  other  inspired  declarations.  The 
nature  of  God  is  a  social  nature,  and  God  has  com- 
panionship. The  words,  ''Let  ns  make  man,"  show 
that  there  was  a  conference — that  there  was  a  society 
— or  more  than  one  person  concerned  in  that  creation. 
And  also  the  declaration — "  See,  they  have  become  as 
one  of  us,  to  know  good  and  evil,"  shows  that  there 
were  more  persons  than  one.  The  personal  pronoun, 
lis,  denotes  that  there  must  have  been  several  per- 
sons. 

Now  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  as  we  have  seen 
that  it  is  taught  in  the  Bible,  throws  light  on  all  such 
expressions  ;  and  also,  it  excludes  the  idea,  which  is 
revolting  to  our  nature,  that  the  everlasting  felicity 
of  God  consisted,  when  there  was  nothing  else  but 
God,  in  the  contemplation  of  His  own  nature,  in  that 
everlasting  solitude. 

But  the  plain  words  of  Jesus  take  away  all  occasion 
for  doubt,  in  regard  to  this  question.  He  teaches 
that  there  was  a  going  out  of  affection — of  a  holy 
love,  between  the  persons  in  the  Godhead,  from 
eternity. 

We  are  accustomed  to  believe  that  love  is  a  prin- 
ciple— a  pure  and  holy  principle,  that  is  at  once  essen- 
tial to  action  and  to  happiness,  in  every  conceivable 
state  of  animated  existence — and    especial!)-  among 


DOCTRINE    OF    THE    TRINITY.  55 

holy  and  intelligent  beings.  But  if  love  is  a  divine 
principle,  and  essential  to  happiness  in  every  suppos- 
able  condition  of  life,  we  must  believe  that  it  emanated 
originally  from  God.  And  if  we  can  entertain  this 
idea,  what  a  flood  of  light  it  throws  upon  that  strange 
and  mysterious  formula  of  words,  found  in  no  book 
but  the  Bible — '*  God  is  love  !  " 

That  inspired  declaration  contains  the  truth,  which, 
as  we  may  say,  lies  at  the  foundation  of  the  throne  of 
God.  It  takes  in  not  only  the  fact  of  His  giving  His 
Son  to  die  for  sinners,  but  it  comprehends  the  scheme 
of  the  universe ;  and  takes  in  the  economy,  and,  in 
fact,  gives  character  to  the  general  economy  by  which 
the  universe  has  been  fashioned,  regulated,  and  con- 
trolled. 

"God  Is  love."  That  is  true.  And  if  that  is  true, 
it  was  always  true.  For  God  is  not  a  compound  of 
impulses  and  passions.  But  He  abides  in  love — 
a  loving  God  now — a  loving  God  always,  and  for- 
ever! 

But  on  whom  did  He  bestow  the  treasures  of  His 
affection,  when  there  was  no  man,  nor  angel,  nor  any 
other  creature  in  existence  ?  A  rationalist  would  be 
compelled  to  say,  that  He  loved  Himself,  as  there 
was  nothing  else  which  He  could  love.  But  self-love, 
judging  from  our  present  stand-point,  is  not  a  very 
holy  principle,  and  not,  especially,  productive  of  the 
purest  and  most  unalloyed  happiness.  Self-love  is 
a  self-consuming  fire,  that  is  apt  to  burn  out  the 
heart  in  which  the  smothered  fiame  rages.  A  pure 
and  benevolent  love  is  that  which  goes  out  of  self, 
and     takes    within    its    embrace    other    objects,    that 


56  MOSES    AND    TUF,    PHILOSOPHERS. 

may    either    reciprocate    that    love,    or    be    enriched 
thereby. 

The  persons  in  the  adorable  Trinity  were  thus 
united  in  love.  It  was  the  perfection  of  love,  such  as 
we  can  but  very  imperfectly  conceive.  Let  us  look 
at  a  few  of  the  texts  which  authorize  this  belief. 
Jesus  says : 

"  Father,  I  will  that  they  also  whom  thou  hast  given 
me,  be  with  me  where  I  am;  that  they  may  behold  my 
g-lory  w^hich  thou  hast  given  me  ;  for  thoii  lovedst  me 
before  the  foundation  of  the  world." 

This  is  a  prayer  of  the  Son  addressed  to  the 
Father.  Here  are  two  persons.  The  Father  is  one 
person,  and  the  Son  is  anodier  person.  These  are 
designated  as  persons  by  the  pronouns  "1"  and 
"thou,"  "  me  "  and  "  thee."  These  cannot  refer  to  one 
and  the  same  person.  And  there  must  also  be  two 
wills,  as  well  as  two  persons.  For  the  Son  sa)s :  "I 
will  that  they  also  " — "/er///."  This  is  the  will  of  the 
Son.  Of  course,  the  Father  has  a  will.  Then  in  the 
same  address.  He  speaks  of  the  Love  of  the  Father 
to  Him  before  the  foundation  of  the  world.  And  such 
was  the  richness  or  the  depth  of  this  love  of  the 
Father  to  Him  from  eternity,  that  He  speaks  of  it  as 
the  glory  which  He  had  with  the  Father.  Is  there 
anything  in  this  which  indicates  that  the  blessedness 
of  God  from  eternity,  consisted  in  the  solitary  con- 
templation of  His  own  perfections? 

Again,  Jesus  said  in  His  prayer: 

"I  have  declared  unto  them  thy  name,  and  will  de- 
clare it.  that  the  love  wherewith  thou  hast  loved 
me,  may  be  in  them,  and  I  in  them." 


DOCTRINE    OF    THE   TRINITY.  5/ 

Here  Jesus  not  only  sets  forth  the  love  of  the 
Father  to  Himself,  but  reveals  the  wondrous  truth 
that  this  love  which  existed  first  between  Himself  and 
the  Father,  is  to  be  the  source,  whence  shall  spring 
up  the  love  that  is  to  animate  all  Christian  hearts, 
and,  by  consequence,  secure  the  eternal  happiness  of 
all  saints — "  that  the  love  wherewith  thou  hast  loved 
me,  may  be  in  them."  Divine  love  in  a  Christian 
heart  is  nothine  else  but  that  love  of  God,  or  love  of 
Christ  shed  abroad  in  that  heart,  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 
And  no  one  has  experienced,  or  can  experience  the 
capacity  of  a  human  soul  for  true  bliss,  till  he  shall 
have  had  some  experience  of  that  love. 

This  prayer  of  Jesus  almost  lifts  us  beyond  our 
present  sphere,  and  quite  into  the  presence-chamber 
of  God,  revealing-  what  was  before  the  world  was,  and 
that  even  before  the  world  was,  there  was  a  glory  and 
a  blessedness  beyond  the  reach  of  mortal  thought. 
There  was  no  everlasting  solitude.  But  there  was 
a  perfect  society,  and  there  was  a  fellowship,  and  a 
union  of  love  between  the  Divine  persons  in  the 
Godhead,  that  constituted  their  glory  in  the  eternity 
past. 

In  the  theologfical  writinofs  of  Dr.  Thornwell,  there 
occurs  a  passage  which  is  strongly  corroborative  of 
the  view  presented  above.      He  says  : 

"So  intimate  is  the  connection  between  society  and 
personality,  that,  in  our  humble  judgment,  the  infinite 
God  could  neither  be  holy  nor  blessed,  unless  there 
was  a  foundation  in  the  very  essence  of  Deity.  A 
God  that  was  only  a  single  person,  would  want  that 
union  without  which   the  person  would   be   imperfect. 


58  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

Solitude  may  be  enjoyed  for  a  while,  but  it  is  imprison- 
ment and  death  if  made  permanent.  Hence,  there  is 
deep  philosophy  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  The 
Triune  God  is  an  all-sufficient  God — all-sufficient  to 
Himself,  and  all-sufficient  to  His  creatures.  Before 
time  began,  or  the  stars  were  born,  the  Father  rejoiced 
in  the  Son,  and  the  Son  rejoiced  in  the  Father.  There 
was  the  deepest  union,  and  the  most  ineffable  com- 
munion, and  it  was  only  to  refiect  tlieir  blessedness 
and  glory,  that  other  persons  and  other  societies  were 
formed,  whose  laws  and  principles  must  be  traced  to 
the  very  bosom  of  the  Deity." 

There  never  was  a  pure  and  loving  heart  that  could 
be  haj)py  or  contented  in  a  state  of  absolute  solitude, 
and  with  no  object  on  which  to  lavish  its  wealth  of 
love.  As  man  has  been  constituted,  and  we  believe 
that  in  this  recrard  he  was  made  in  the  ima<^e  of  God, 
he  could  not  be  supremely  blessed,  but  he  would  be 
most  miserable  without  some  being,  or  some  worthy 
object  to  love.  In  the  morn  of  creation,  God  said, 
"It  is  not  orood  for  man  to  be  alone." 

If  we  deny  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  we  must 
believe  that  God  existed  from  eternity,  in  His  own 
profound  solitariness  —  a  God  of  love  without  a 
single  object  towards  which  that  love  could  tlow 
out.  But  love  is  an  active  principle  that  cannot 
exist  long  in  a  dormant  state,  but  it  must  find  ex- 
pression in  an  ever-llowing  stream  of  sympathy  and 
(jGod-will. 

If  God  is  love,  as  the  Scriptures  declare,  this  must 
be  the  original  source,  whence  all  love  has  sprung; 
just  as  the  sun,  being  a  globe  of  pure  light,  sends 
his    radiating    influence   through   all    the   system,   of 


DOCTRINE   OF   THE    TRINITY.  59 

which  he  is  the  centre.  There  is  a  law  of  love, 
and  God  is  the  author  of  it.  It  is  the  law  of  society, 
which,  omnipresent  as  the  law  of  gravitation,  keeps 
society  together  and  secures  the  perpetuity  of 
species. 

We  see  the  evidence  of  this  force  of  love,  even 
among  the  inferior  species.  There  is  an  instinctive 
affection  that  draws  them  to  one  another,  and  to  man. 
Many  of  them,  as  the  dog,  and  others,  under  kind 
treatment,  show  remarkable  prools  of  attachment  and 
affection.  You  call  it  instinct.  But  where  did  the 
instinct  come  from  ?  How  did  it  originate  ?  Even 
the  inanimate  creation,  as  plants  and  llowers,  seem 
to  show  an  affinity  for  one  another,  so  that  unions 
are  formed  between  them,  by  which  every  particular 
species  is  perpetuated.  We  often  hear  naturalists 
speak  of  the  loves  of  the  flowers  and  plants. 

W^e  see,  then,  as  it  were,  a  general  law  of  love  per- 
vading the  universe.  Of  course,  this  law  could  not 
have  resulted  from  chance.  It  must  have  had  its 
origin  in  the  source  of  love.  And  God  is  the  source 
of  love  ;  for  "  God  is  love." 

Every  thing  that  has  life,  whether  animal  or  vege- 
table, exists  in  families,  by  pairs,  or  by  association  with 
some  other  kindred  life.  If  any  thing  should  abide 
single,  or  alone,  it  would  soon  die  and  become  extinct. 
It  could  not  prolong  its  own  existence.  Man  was  not 
created  alone,  and  single.  God  made  him,  male 
and  female,  and  ordained  the  bond  of  union  that 
makes  them  "  one  flesh."  They  are  two  persons, 
but  "  one  flesh."  That  is  a  most  remarkable  ex- 
pression.    Can  any  rationalist  comprehend   or    even 


6o  MOSES   AND   THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

believe  it  —  two  persons  and  two  wills,  but  one 
man  ?  It  is  doubtful  whether  any  would  believe  it, 
if  it  had  not  been  so  ordained  and  so  written  — 
"And  they  twain  shall  be  one  flesh.  In  the  day  diat 
God  created  man,  in  the  likeness  of  God  made  He 
him;  male  and  female  created  He  them;  and  blessed 
them,  an  J  called  their  name  Adam" — two  in  one — 
two  persons,  but  one  man  Adam — and  so  made  in  the 
likeness  of  God. 

Can  any  mere  rationalist  explain  the  nature  of  the 
bond  that  unites  the  two,  and  makes  them  one  llesh  ? 
We  call  it  love.  It  is  a  mysterious  thing.  We  knov/ 
nothing-  as  to  its  origin,  unless  it  was  ordained  of  God. 
In  its  origin,  in  its  nature,  and  its  power,  it  is  wonder- 
ful. "  Love  is  strong  as  death."  "  Many  waters  can- 
not quench  love,  neither  can  the  floods  drown  it;  if  a 
man  would  give  all  the  substance  of  his  house  for 
love,  it  would  be  utterly  contemned."  No,  it  can 
neither  h^  bought  nor  sold.  And  we  know  that  it  is 
a  principle  stronger  than  death. 

Now,  if  this  principle,  or  this  law  of  love,  or  what- 
ever we  may  call  it,  was  ordained  by  God,  may  wc  not 
believe  that  there  is  something  in  the  nature  of  God 
which  it  reflects?  The  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  im- 
plies it.  If  die  Father  loved  the  Son,  and  the 
Son  loved  the  Father,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  eter- 
nally loved  the  Father  and  the  Son — here  is  the 
source  and  fountain  of  all  love — the  beeinninLr  of  all 
soci-ety. 

If  we  suppose,  as  we  must  do,  this  love  that  united 
the  persons  in  the  Godhead,  free  from  the  imperfec- 
tions  and   impurities  arising  from  a  connection  with 


DOCTRINE   OF   THE  TRINITY.  6l 

fleshly  bodies,  the  union  would  be  absolutely  perfect. 
The  nearest  approach  to  such  a  union  we  can  have 
any  conception  of,  on  earth,  would  be  that  of  two 
hearts — a  young  husband  and  wife,  in  the  freshness 
of  their  love,  with  perhaps  a  little  one,  the  image  of 
themselves — three  hearts  all  one — three  persons  all 
one  in  essence,  in  love,  in  hopes,  and  aims — living  in 
one  another,  and  for  one  another,  and  willing  to  die, 
if  need  be,  for  one  another.  If  there  could  be  such  a 
thing  as  supreme  bliss  in  this  world,  it  would  be  found 
in  such  a  family  union  as  this.  If  now,  we  suppose 
this  union  to  be  so  spiritual  and  holy,  as  to  be  free 
from  all  the  imperfections  arising  from  the  motions 
of  the  flesh,  it  would  be  a  fitting  type  of  the  union 
existing  between  the  Divine  persons. 

We  can  imagine,  then,  how  God  may  have  been 
supremely  blessed,  in  and  of  Himself,  from  eternity, 
when  there  was  nothing  else  in  existence — no  man, 
nor  angel ;  no  sun,  nor  star,  nor  planetary  systems. 
Christ  had  a  glory  with  the  Father,  and  the  Father 
had  a  glory  with  the  Son  ;  and  they  both  had  a  glory 
with  the  blessed  Spirit,  the  third  person  in  the  ador- 
able Trinity,  and  the  glory  of  this  blessedness  was 
complete.  And  we  can  imagine  that  the  bliss  of  this 
union  was  so  perfect,  that  there  was  no  necessity  for 
the  creation  of  worlds,  and  the  multiplication  of  count- 
less orders  of  beings,  rational  and  irrational,  to  in- 
crease that  bliss. 

But  love  is  like  the  sun.  It  pours  forth  its 
riches  in  a  perpetual  efl^uence  of  blessing  and  good. 
But  how  did  the  Divine  love,  that  reigned  among 
the   persons    of  the  Trinity,   originally  find    expres- 


62  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

sion,  and  make  itself  manifest  to  the  external  uni- 
verse ? 

The  answer  to  this  great  question,  has  been  antici- 
pated in  the  preceding  chapter,  on  "  The  Final  Cause 
of  Things."  God  wanted  a  moral  empire — a  kingdom 
founded  in  love — somethino^  more  than  a  material 
system,  and  this  gave  rise  to  the  Redeemed  Church 
— the  Body  of  Christ,  the  Lamb's  wife  ;  redeemed, 
purified,  and  saved  at  the  price  of  His  own  blood. 
And  the  redemption  of  the  church,  necessitated  the 
creation  of  the  material  universe — the  creation  of  suns, 
and  stars  and  angels,  and  principalities,  and  powers. 
These  were  auxiliary  in  carrying  out  the  purpose  of 
Grace  towards  His  Church.  It  was  thus,  that  the  love 
of  God — that  the  very  nature  of  God  as  a  Trinity, 
fiowed  out  to  the  created  universe. 

I  will  now  put  down  in  the  form  of  five  corollaries, 
the  substance  of  the  thoughts  contained  in  this  chapter 
and  then  conclude. 

I.  The  principle  of  love  existed  eternally  between 
the  persons  in  the  Trinity,  binding  them  together  in 
such  a  sense,  that  they  are  one  in  love,  and  sympathy, 
as  well  as  in  essence. 

II.  The  fact  that  there  are  three  persons  in  the 
Godhead,  does  not  destroy  the  unity  of  God,  no  more 
than  the  fact  of  the  relationship  between  a  man  and 
wife  destroys  the  unity  of  the  man,  and  makes  them 
two  men  instead  of  one.  There  are  two  persons,  but 
one  man. 

III.  The  outflow  of  the  Divine  love  to  the  universe, 
and  the  manner  of  its  manifestation,  is  clearly  ex- 
plicable on  the  supposition  of  the  truth  of  this  glorious 


DOCTRINE    OF    THE    TRINITY.  63 

doctrine,  which  we  have  tried  to  exhibit  in  the  Vight 
of  revelation.  It  is  a  Social  love,  an  effluence  from 
which,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  has  pervaded  all 
ranks  and  conditions  of  creatures,  that  have  breath, 
or  being,  or  life  ;  so  that  it  may  be  called  a  law  of 
the  universe — and  if  a  law,  it  must  have  proceeded 
from  a  Law-giver,  and  the  antetype  of  it  must  have 
been  in  the  nature  of  God,  as  we  say  that  something 
could  not  have  come  from  nothing. 

IV.  The  definition  of  God,  that  He  is  LOVE,  im- 
plies that  this  was  always  His  nature  ;  and  therefore, 
in  the  by-gone  eternity,  when  there  was  nothing  else 
to  love,  the  Divine  love  must  have  been  a  Social 
love  existing  between  the  persons  in  the  Godhead, 
and  constitutinof  their  Infinite  and  Everlastincr  bless- 
edness. 

V.  There  is  a  union  between  Christ  and  every 
sanctified  believer,  not  unlike  to  that  between  the 
persons  in  the  Godhead.  He  is  the  Head,  they  are 
the  body  ;  He  is  the  vine,  they  are  the  branches  ;  so 
that  in  truth,  they  are  one  with  Him.  As  he  said, 
"Neither  pray  I  for  these  alone,  but  for  them  also, 
which  shall  believe  on  me  through  their  word,  tJiat  tJiey 
all  may  be  one,  as  thou,  Fa/he?',  art  in  vie,  and  I  in  thee  ; 
that  they  also  may  be  one  in  usl' 

These  precious  words  of  Jesus,  if  rightly  inter- 
preted, have  a  significance  never  yet  fully  compre- 
hended by  us.  There  is  a  union,  and  a  communion, 
in  the  sphere  of  which,  may  we  not  believe,  there  is 
life,  and  love,  and  blessedness ;  but  out  of  that  sphere 
of  union  and  fellowship  with  God,  nothing  but  the  op- 
posites  of  life,  and  love,  and  blessedness  !     And  does 


64  MOSF..S    AND    THE    PII ILOSOPIIEKS. 

not  the  heart  of  every  man  tell  him,  that,  while  out 
of  that  sphere  of  union  and  communion  with  God, 
and  while  estranged  from  Him,  he  must  wander  in 
darkness  like  a  strayed  comet,  that  has  lost  its  con- 
nection with  the  centre  of  the  system ! 


CHAPTER   III. 

Doctrine  of  the  Incai^nation, 

The  Central  Orb — Mystery  of  godliness — \Vhy  not  believed — How  it  can  be 
apprehended — Necessity  of  the  Mediatorial  Scheme — Plan  laid  in  Eternity — ■ 
When  the  execution  was  begun — The  great  epoch  of  time — History  divided — 
The  First  promise — Jacob's  prediction — The  prophecy  of  Moses — Isaiah's  sub- 
lime utterances — Not  understood  by  rationalists — Micah,  Daniel,  Malachi — 
General  expectation  of  the  world — The  "Desire  of  nations" — Birth  of  Oc- 
tavius — Wise  men  of  the  East — Divine  homage  to  the  infant  Jesus — No  parallel 
in  history — The  world  revolutionized — Laws  and  customs  changed — Rome 
converted — Decree  of  the  Council  of  Nice — Jesus  in  history  and  literature — 
Strauss,  and  Renan — Moral  government  perfected  by  the  Incarnation — No 
salvation  without  it — To  the  glory  of  God — Greatest  amount  of  happiness — 
Love  of  God  made  known — A  beautiful  extract — Mysteriousness  not  an  objec- 
tion— Everything  mysterious — A  closing  reflection. 

THE  Birth  of  Jesus  invests  our  material  world, 
viewed  only  as  a  part  of  the  physical  universe, 
with  an  importance  that  can  belong  to  no  other 
world  that  was  ever  lighted  up,  and  fitted  and  gar- 
nished by  God,  to  be  the  abode  of  happy  life.  Phi- 
losophers, indeed,  tell  us  about  the  starry  worlds  and 
the  planetary  orbs,  thousands  of  times  greater  than 
our  globe,  and  of  its  relative  insignificance  in  the  scale 
of  creation.  But  it  may  be  that,  after  all,  it  is  to  be 
the  central  orb,  about  which  the  starry  worlds  are 
destined  to  revolve,  and  for  the  service  of  which  they 
were  made. 

5  (6s) 


66  MOSES    AXn    TIIF.    rilll.OSOPIlF.RS. 

''Great  is  tJic  mys/cjy  of  j^odiincss ;  God  was  mani- 
fest in  the  flesh,  justified  in  the  Spirit,  seen  of  angels, 
preached  unto  the  Gentiles,  believed  on  in  the  icoi'ld, 
received  up  into  Glory."' — Paul. 

W'c-  ask  the  materialist  to  believe  this  mystery,  and 
he  turns  away  in  scorn,  as  if  we  had  intended  a  de- 
liberate insult  to  his  understanding.  No  one  can 
receive  this  mystery  except  he  be  in  the  possession 
of  certain  prerequisite  mental  and  moral  qualifications, 
to  apprehend  the  fitness  and  the  necessity  of  such  a 
revelation. 

One  who  docs  not  apprehend  the  theory  of  a  moral 
dispensation,  who  thinks  diere  can  be  nothing-  in  ex- 
istence but  the  material  fabric,  and  knows  nothing 
of  moral  government  and  a  broken  law,  cannot,  of 
course,  apprehend  the  doctrine  of  the  Incarnation — 
the  need  of  a  Saviour — or  of  a  God  manifest  in  the 
flesh. 

To  be  able  rightly  to  apprehend  the  theme  of  this 
present  chapter,  there  must  be  in  the  first  place,  a 
conviction  of  personal  responsibility,  then  a  belief  in 
the  existence  of  moral  government,  and  lastl)',  a  sense 
of  personal  guilt  or  of  condemnation  under  the  law. 
To  one  in  this  disposition,  or  frame  of  mind,  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Incarnation  will  commend  itself  as  a  neces- 
sity, as  soon  as  understood. 

In  former  chapters,  we  have  seen  what  a  moral 
government  is,  and  also,  how  the  moral  constitution 
was  brought  in.  It  has  likewise  been  explained  that, 
to  carry  out  the  moral  system,  the  sanctions  of  law- 
had  to  be  rigidly  enforced.  This  necessitated,  when 
the  law  was  broken  down,  the  introduction  of  a  Media- 


DOCTRINE    OF   THE    INCARNATION.  6/ 

torial  system,  or  the  destruction  of  moral  government 
as  a  failure.  But  all  the  works  of  God  are  in  wisdom 
and  righteousness,  and  He  makes  no  failures.  When 
He  ordained  the  moral  constitution  to  manifest  '' tJie 
beauty  of  holiness','  and  the  perfections  of  His  being  to 
angelic  intelligences,  and  to  "  the  principalities  and 
powers  in  heavenly  places,"  He  foreknew  that  the 
subjects  of  that  moral  constitution  would  become 
involved  in  guilt  and  ruin,  from  which  they  could  not 
recover  themselves — foreknew  that  they  would  stand 
in  need  of  an  Almighty  Redeemer — He  foreknew 
all  this,  and  yet  He  resolved  on  the  Mediatorial 
scheme,  necessitating  the  Incarnation  of  His  Son. 
Here  the  author  would  pause  to  say,  that,  if  he  has. 
had  any  joy,  or  reward  of  his  labor,  it  has  come  from 
the  little  lio^ht  that  has  dawned  on  his  mind  from 
the  attempt  to  understand  something  of  this  amazing 
mystery. 

In  carrying  out  the  preordained  moral  constitu- 
tion, therefore,  the  Incarnation  was  a  necessity.  It  is 
the  final  and  perfect  completion  of  that  system.  It 
gives  the  finish  to  the  glorious  temple.  The  three 
parts  of  the  building — the  Outer  Court,  the  Inner 
Court,  and  the  Most  Holy  Place,  are  all  equally  essen- 
tial, and  form  the  one  glorious  structure,  which  God 
has  been  erectino-  throuo-h  the  aees. 

The  mystery  of  the  Incarnation,  then,  is  but  the 
development  of  the  plan  that  was  laid  in  the  counsels 
of  eternity,  and  begun  to  be  executed  when  God 
formed  and  garnished  this  orb  on  which  we  dwell,  and 
when  He  planted  Eden  and  put  man  therein,  and 
caused  to  grow  the  mystic  "  tree  of  the  knowledge 


68  MOSES    AND    TIIF.    PHILOSOPHERS. 

of  good  and  evil."  Then  the  execution  of  the  plan 
was  begun.  And  all  the  dispensations  of  Providence 
since,  have  had,  directly  or  indirectly,  a  bearing  look- 
ino-  to  the  fulfilment  of  the  same  wondrous  scheme. 
The  birth  of  Jesus  in  Bethlehem — the  Divine  man — 
was  in  pursuance  of  the  same  plan,  to  consummate  the 
scheme  of  eternal  redemption. 

That  was  the  event  in  time,  which,  it  may  truly  be 
said,  divid('s  the  history  of  the  world  into  two  separate 
portions,  running  backward  and  running  forward — all 
the  lines  diveririnu  from  and  convereinii  to  that  event 
as  if  it  were  the  focal  point,  or  the  very  axis  about 
which  the  world  revolves.  And  indeed,  it  is  the  axis 
around  which  the  moral  v.-orld  is  revolving  at  this  time, 
and  around  which  the  whole  great  moral  universe  is 
destined  to  move  in  the  ages  to  come. 

This  is  a  theme  for  profitable  meditation.  Hardly 
had  the  grand  drama  opened  for  which  the  present 
order  of  things  was  constituted,  when  we  hear  the 
voice  of  the  Maker,  saying : 

"  T/ic  seed  of  the  wouiaii  shall  bruise  the  scrpenC s 
heady 

This  promise  was  given  in  the  first  paradise,  four 
thousand  years  before  the  time  of  the  consummation. 
It  was  given  as  soon  as  sin  had  entered,  and  there 
existed  a  necessity  for  the  covenant  of  Grace  to  be 
revealed.  All  Biblical  scholars,  and  commentators 
have  understood  the  words  of  this  promise,  as  having 
reference  to  the  comino-  of  Christ.  It  is  the  same 
promise  of  the  Covenant  of  Grace,  afterward  renewed 
to  Abraham,  the  father  of  the  faithful,  when  God  said 
to  him : 


DOCTRINE   OF    THE    INCARNATION.  69 

^'I  ivill  cstablisJi  my  Covenant  with  tJice  for  an  everlast- 
ing covenant,  and  loith  thy  seed  after  thee.'' 

This  is  a  promise  without  Hmitations.  It  is  not  con- 
fined to  the  lineal  descendants  of  Abraham,  but  takes 
in  the  nations.  For  Paul  commenting  on  it,  says, 
that  Abraham  was  "  the  heir  of  the  world,  who, 
against  hope,  believed  in  hope,  that  he  might  become 
the  father  of  many  nations;"  and  again,  "that  the 
blessing  of  Abraham  mioht  come  on  the  Gentiles, 
through  Jesus  Christ,  that  we  might  receive  the 
promise  of  the  Spirit  through  faith." 

When  Moses  Wrote,  doubtless  there  were  those  who 
did  not  understand  the  terms  of  this  Abrahamic  cov- 
enant. And  when  Paul  wrote  his  epistles,  there  were 
many  who  did  not  comprehend  the  full  meaning  of 
the  promise.  And  there  are  multitudes  now,  both 
Jews  and  Gentiles,  who  are  not  fully  cognizant  as  to 
the  extent  of  the  spiritual  blessings  to  come  on  the 
world,  through  that  covenant  made  with  Abraham. 
But  still,  ever  since  the  Star  of  Bethlehem  arose  on 
the  world's  horizon,  there  have  been,  in  the  different 
centuries,  what  will  constitute  a  multitude  at  last, 
which  no  man  can  number,  who  have  been  able  to 
comprehend  the  nature  of  that  Covenant  promise,  in 
its  real  and  full  import. 

The  promise  is  reaffirmed.  At  a  still  later  date, 
and  in  terms  still  more  distinct,  the  voice  of  prophecy 
is  heard  : 

"  The  sceptre  shall  not  depart  from  fndah,  nor  a  laiv- 
giver  from  between  his  feet,  until  Shiloh  come,  and  unto 
Him  shall  the  gathering  of  the  people  be'' 


70  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

That  is  mucli  more  explicit.  Every  devout  Jew 
has  ever  regarded  it  as  a  delinite  promise  that  their 
Messiali  was  to  be  born  of  the  tribe  ofjudah.  Com- 
ing on  still  further  down  in  the  rolling  years,  here  is 
another  ijromise,  or  rather,  the  same  promise  renewed, 
in  the  wortis  of  Moses  himself,  the  great  lawgiver,  of 
whom  it  may  be  said,  that  he  was  a  man  so  nearly 
divine",  that  he  was  properly  selected  to  be  the  type 
of  Him,  concerning  whom  he  spoke,  and  whose  ad- 
vent he  foretold  in  these  sitrnificant  words: 

'' Anodic  r  propJict  sJiall  I  he  Lord  your  God  raise  np, 
like  iLiito  Die ;  Him  sJiall  ye  hear!' 

While  God  was  preparing  the  world  for  the  ad- 
vent of  the  Redeemer,  He  sent  prophet  after  pro- 
phet, to  keep  this  promise  of  the  Covenant  ever  be- 
fore the  minds  of  the  chosen  people.  The  prophet 
Isaiah,  who  wrote  loftier,  sublinier  strains  of  poetry, 
than  any  other,  of  ancient  or  modcM-n  times,  catches 
a  glimpse  of  the  far-off  coming  Messiah,  and  speaks 
of  it  in  such  strains  as  no  uninspired  poet  ever  used, 
saying : 

''For  7171  fo  lis  a  CJiild  is  born,  tinlo  21s  a  Son  is  o'iven ; 
and  the  government  shall  be  upon  His  shoulder, 
and  I  lis  name  shall  be  called  Wonderful,  Counsellor, 
the  mighty  C}od,  the  everlasting  Father,  the  Prince 
of  peace.  Of  the  increase  of  His  government  and 
peace  there  shall  be  no  end  upon  the  throne  of  Pavid, 
and  ui)on  his  kingdom  to  ortler  and  to  establish  it 
with  judgment  and  with  justice,  from  henceforth,  even 
forever." 

1  las    any   one    ever  made    his   appearance    in   the 


DOCTRINE    OF    TME    INCARNATION.  yi 

world  who  could  claim  as  appropriate  to  himself,  the 
wonderful  description  contained  in  these  words  ot  the 
prophet  ?  We  know  of  one,  and  the  world  knows  of 
but  one.  It  is  Jesus,  already  known  and  acknowl- 
edged as  the  Prince  of  peace  and  the  mighty  God  by 
millions  of  faithful  subjects.  Another  equally  strange 
prophetic  utterance  is  recorded  by  the  same  mes- 
senger, so  strange  and  paradoxical  that  the  sages  of 
this  world  do  not  even  comprehend  it. 

"  Behold,  a  virgin  shall  conceive,  and  bring  forth  a 
Son,  and  they  shall  call  his  name  Immanuel." 

As  time  rolls  on,  bringing  still  nearer  the  consum- 
mation of  the  great  decree,  these  revelations  increase 
in  number  and  in  clearness;  and  each  revelation  or 
promise  becomes  a  luminous  star  of  hope  in  the 
Jewish  firmament,  emitting  their  clear  and  serene 
light  above  the  world's  horizon,  to  keep  up  faith  and 
hope  in  the  hearts  of  all,  who  retained  any  faith  or 
trust  in  Providence.  Here  is  Micah,  among  the  latest 
of  the  prophets,  pointing  out  and  naming  the  birth- 
place of  the  coming  Deliverer,  in  wondrous  words,  such 
as  only  inspiration  could  have  dictated: 

"And  thou,  Bethlehem  Ephratah,  though  thou  be 
little  among  the  thousands  of  Judah,  yet  out  of  thee 
shall  He  come  forth  to  me,  who  shall  be  ruler  over 
my  people  Israel ;  whose  goings  forth  have  been  from 
of  old,  from  everlasting." 

And  the  holy  Daniel  catches  the  inspiration,  and  is 
even  more  explicit,  indicating  the  very  time  when  the 
promised  Messiah  was  to  make  his  appearance, 
saying : 


/- 


MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 


"  Seventy  weeks  are  determined  upon  thy  people, 
and  iijxon  ihy  holy  city  to  fmish  the  transgression,  and 
to  make  an  end  of  sins,  and  to  make  reconciliation 
for  inicjuit)',  and  to  bring  in  everlasting  righteousness, 
and  to  si:al  up  the  vision  and  prophecy,  and  to  anoint 
the  Most  Holy.  Know  therefore,  and  understand,  that, 
from  the  going  forth  of  the  commandment  to  restore 
and  to  build  Jerusalem  unto  the  Messiah  the  Prince, 
shall  be  seven  weeks,  and  threescore  and  two  weeks; 
the  street  shall  be  built  again,  and  the  wall  even  in 
troublous  times.  And  after  threescore  and  two 
weeks,  shall  Messiah  be  cut  off,  but  not  for  Himself; 
and  the  people  of  the  Prince  that  shall  come,  shall 
destroy  tiie  city,  and  the  sanctuar)' ;  and  the  end 
thereof  shall  be  with  a  Hood,  and  unto  the  end  of  the 
war  desohitions  are  ck^termincd.  And  He  shall  con- 
firm the  covenant  with  many  for  one  we(d>: ;  and  in 
the  midst  of  the  week.  He  shall  cause  the  sacrifice 
and  the  oblation  to  cease,  and  lor  the  over-spreading 
of  abominations  He  shall  make  it  desolate,  even  until 
the  consummation,  and  that  determined  shall  be 
poured  upon  the  desolate." 

Wonderful  revelations  !  in  which  the  propliet,  four 
hundred  years  before  the  time,  not  only  shows  when 
He  was  to  come,  but  why  He  was  to  come — "to  finish 
the  transgression" — "  to  make  an  end  of  sin" — "to 
make  reconciliation  for  inicjuity" — "to  bring  in  ever- 
lasting righteousness."  No  uninsj)ired  poet  or  sage 
could  have  written  these  words,  l^ut  wliat  is  this  we 
have  in  Malachi,  the  last  of  the  prophets  ? 

"  The;  Lord  whom  ye  seek  shall  suddenly  come  to 
His  'Pcmplc,  even  the  Messenger  of  the  covenant, 
whom  )'e  delight  in  ;  behold,  He  shall  come,  saith  the 
Lord  of  hosts." 


DOCTRINE    OF    THE    INCARNATION.  73 

Thus  it  was  that  by  a  long  series  of  these  heavenly 
oracles,  the  way  was  prepared  for  the  manifestation 
of  the  Son  of  God  ;  and  the  world,  and  especially  the 
Jewish  people  were  not  taken  by  surprise,  when  the 
Messiah  came,  as  if  it  were  an  unlooked-for  event. 
There  was  a  general  expectation,  not  only  among  the 
people  of  Israel,  but  in  some  of  the  neighboring 
nations  the  minds  of  men  had  become  imbued  with 
the  idea,  that  some  unusual  event  was  soon  to  happen  ; 
that  some  wonderful  person  was  about  to  be  born, 
who  was  to  introduce  great  changes,  and  perhaps, 
initiate  that  golden  age  which  poets  and  sages  had 
loner  foretold. 

There  is  no  doubt  this  general  expectation  had 
grown  out  of  the  promises  and  prophecies,  a  few  of 
which  have  been  enumerated,  contained  in  the  sacred 
books  of  the  Jews.  They  had  constant  intercourse 
with  the  surrounding  nations. 

There  were  thousands  dwelling  in  almost  every 
countr)-,  and  they  had  spread  abroad  the  knowledge 
of  the  faith,  and  hopes,  and  brilliant  expectations,  in 
which  they  had  grown  up  from  childhood  ;  and  this 
knowledge  had  grown  till  all  the  nations  had  caught 
the  enthusiastic  feeling,  and  shared  in  the  general 
expectation. 

In  imperial  Rome  itself,  at  the  period  of  which  we 
speak,  there  was  a  general  looking  for,  of  this  "desire 
of  nations."  When  Octavius  was  born,  heir  to  the 
throne  of  the  Caesars,  Virgil,  the  poet  laureate  of 
Rome,  alluding  to  the  event  in  one  of  his  most  beau- 
tiful odes,  could  not  refrain  from  an  apostrophe  to  the 
child,  in  which  he  expresses  the  hope  that  he  was  the 


74  MOSES    AND    THE    PlllLOSOFHEKS. 

promised   heir  of  the  world,  under  whose  reign  all 
were  to  be  blessed. 

In  the  Hast,  in  Chaldea,  and  Persia,  whither  the  ten 
tribes  had  been  taken  captives  eight  or  ten  centuries 
before,  they  had  carried  with  them  their  traditions  of 
the  promised  deliverer,  and  by  this  means  the  whole 
East  had  been  pervaded  with  the  same  great  idea, 
that  some  extraordinary  personage  was  about  to  be 
born  into  the  world.  Hence,  we  read  of  the  journey 
of  the  wise  men  of  the  Fiast  to  Bethlehem,  to  see  and 
worship  Him  who  was  born  King  of  the  Jews.  They 
were  the  Magi — the  learned  men  of  the  East,  who 
devoted  the  most  of  their  time  to  the  study  of  as- 
tronomy. Having  discovered  a  new  star,  they  were 
led  to  the  conclusion,  doubtless  by  a  divine  impulse, 
that  this  star  betokened  the  birth  of  Him  who  had 
become  "  the  Desire  of  nations."  Following  the 
light  of  that  star,  they  were  brought  to  Jerusalem, 
and  then  to  Bethlehem,  the  city  of  David,  where  they 
foimd  the  infant  Jesus.  "  Immediately  they  fell  down 
and  worshipped  him  ;  and  when  they  had  opened  their 
treasures,  they  presented  unto  him  gifts;  gold,  and 
frankincense,  and  m)Trh."  These  wise  men  of  the 
East,  under  a  Divine  impulse,  w^ere  the  first  to  pay 
reliLjious  adoration  to  the  infant  Saviour.  There  are 
those  w^ho  believe  it  j>robable  that  Zoroaster,  who 
flourished  in  Persia  about  this  age,  may  have  been 
one  of  those  w  ise  men  who  made  that  memorable  pil- 
grimage to  Jerusalem,  to  do  honor  to  the  new-born 
Saviour  of  the  world.  This  is  the  record  concerninq: 
their  visit: 


DOCTRINE    OF    THE    INCARNATION.  75 

"  Now  when  Jesus  was  born  in  Bethlehem  of  Judea, 
in  the  days  of  Herod  the  king-,  behold,  there  came 
wise  men  from  the  East  to  Jerusalem  saying:  Where 
is  He  that  is  born  King  of  the  Jews  ?  For  we  have 
seen  His  star  in  the  East,  and  are  come  to  worship 
Him.  When  Herod  heard  these  things,  he  was 
troubled,  and  all  Jerusalem  with  him." 

Now,  when,  in  the  simple  light  of  history,  we  look 
at  this  array  of  facts,  and  this  long  record  of  prophecy, 
extending  through  a  period  of  four  thousand  years  in 
a  direct  line,  and  pointing,  as  with  unerring  finger,  to 
one  and  the  same  remarkable  personage  that  was  to 
be  born — and  moreover,  when  we  find  the  whole 
world  in  a  state  of  excitement  and  of  general  expect- 
ancy, waiting  and  looking  for  some  uncommon  person 
to  make  his  appearance  in  the  world — and  when  we 
notice  that  these  predictions  or  promises  are  preter- 
human or  preternatural  in  their  character,  being  such 
as  we  could  not  expect  to  find  in  any  writings  of 
human  origin — and  notice,  also,  the  remarkable  ac- 
curacy with  which  all,  at  last,  were  fulfilled,  as  to  time, 
place,  and  circumstances,  here  is  a  moral  phenomenon 
which  has  no  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  w^orld,  and 
which  is  not  to  be  accounted  for,  except  on  the  truth 
of  prophecy,  and  the  superhuman  character  of  Him 
who  was  predicted.  Let  our  modern  sceptic  look  at 
the  facts.  There  are  the  prophetic  oracles  scattered 
through  the  Old  Bible.  That  Bible  was  translated 
into  Greek  by  the  Seventy,  three  hundred  years  be- 
fore the  birth  of  Christ,  and  copies,  in  Hebrew  and 
Greek,  scattered  through  the  world  before  the  con- 
summation.  That  fact  is,  in  itself,  as  great  a  miracle 
as  any  reasonable  man  ought  to  require. 


76  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

\Vc  have  said  that  the  Incarnation  of  the  Son  of 
God  is  the  event,  or  was  the  event  which  divided  the 
history  of  the  world  into  two  portions  ;  the  hnes  of 
one  portion  runninj;-  forward,  and  the  lines  of  the 
latter  half  extendinof  backward  to  that  orreat  event,  as 
if  it  were  the  axis  on  which  the  wliole  moral  world 
was  destined  to  turn.  This  is  certainly  true,  as  we 
have  seen,  in  reference  to  the  ages  that  preceded  the 
event.  Now  let  us  inquire  as  to  the  centuries  that 
have  elapsed  since  that  event — the  Incarnation. 

It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  the  coming-  of  Christ  in 
the  tlesh  was  the  event  that  has  changed  the  world — 
revolutionized  nations — put  a  new  aspect  on  the  face 
of  things — changcil  laws  and  customs — introduced 
new  modes  of  thinking  and  philosophizing,  and  now, 
even  lorms  the  warp  and  woof  of  the  histor)-,  and  the 
very  literature  of  the  civilized  world.  These  facts 
are  undeniable. 

No  one  can  even  write  a  letter  on  business,  without 
putting  down  the  figures  that  indicate  the  very  date 
of  the  birth  of  Jesus,  The  Christian  era  is  the 
world's  grand  epoch.  When  we  write  a.  i>.  18S1,  in 
our  bonds,  or  notes,  or  letters,  we  mean  thereby  to 
indicate  that  just  one  thousand  eight  hundr(."d  and 
eighty-one  years  ago,  the  Son  of  God  was  bcrn  into 
the  world.  Even  infidels  make  this  confession.  They 
cannot  help  themselves.  They  may  not  believe  much 
in  Jesus.  They  may  even  regard  him  as  an  impostor, 
or  a  pretender.  Yet  they  cannot  indict  a  letter  to  a 
friend  with  a  date  affixed  to  it,  without  saying,  that, 
just  so  many  years  ago,  the  Incarnation  of  the  Son  of 
God  took  place.  At  a  very'  early  period,  that  date 
was  adopted  as  the  world's  greatest  epoch. 


DOCTRINE    OF   THE    INCARNATION.  yj. 

The  Roman  Empire  itself,  in  a  distant  province  of 
which  Jesus  was  born,  at  an  early  day  became  revol- 
utionized by  His  doctrine,  and  adopted  the  Christian 
era  as  their  period.  The  Imperial  city,  the  centre  of 
an  empire  numbering  sixty  millions  of  people,  had, 
within  a  very  limited  period,  displaced  its  thirty 
thousand  false  gods,  and  substituted  the  simple  wor- 
ship of  Jesus. 

An  order  of  the  emperor,  a.  d.  325,  convened  a 
council,  consisting  of  the  most  learned  bishops  and 
presbyters  in  all  the  provinces  of  the  empire,  to 
settle  the  question  of  the  Divinity  of  Jesus,  against  a 
certain  heretic  whose  name  was  Arius,  who  had  ques- 
tioned His  Divinity.  But  Arius  was  condemned  ;  and 
that  orrand  council  of  the  civilized  Roman  world, 
passed  a  decree,  that  Jesus  is  God — one  with  the 
Father,  and  equal  to  the  Father.  That  decree  did 
not  make  Jesus  a  god,  in  the  manner  that  deities  were 
often  created  by  councils  and  decrees,  since  He  had 
been  worshipped  by  all  His  followers  from  the  begin- 
ning. But  that  learned  council  met  together,  to  pro- 
nounce against  the  heresy  of  Arius,  and  to  confirm 
all  true  believers  in  the  true  Christian  faith — the  sys- 
tem of  doctrine  which  they  had  believed  from  the 
day  of  the  Lord's  resurrection.  That  decree  has 
never  been  reversed. 

In  the  civilized  and  Christian  world,  He  has  been 
revered  and  worshipped  as  God  ever  since  that  decree 
of  the  Council  of  Nice.  If  Jesus  had  been  only  a 
mortal  man,  on  what  principle,  or  by  what  theory  could 
our  sceptical  philosophers  explain  the  concatenation  of 
these  remarkable  facts  ?     For  they  only  supplement 


y8  MOSES  ANi")  Tur:  imih.osopheks. 

the  array  of  remarkable  predictions  which  preceded 
His  advent.  What  now  reads  as  history  is  only  ful- 
filled prophecy. 

Tliere  has  hardl\-  been  any  history  made  or  written 
since  the  advent  of  Jesus  into  the  world,  that  has  not 
His  name  and  His  doctrine  more  or  less  mixed  up 
with  it.  Tacitus  and  several  other  Roman  historians, 
almost  cotemporary  with  Jesus,  began  to  make  men- 
tion of  His  name  in  their  boc^ks.  Josephus,  the  Jew- 
ish historian,  who  lived  a  few  years  after,  could  not 
complete  his  great  history  without  having  something  to 
say  about  |esus.  And  then,  since  his  day,  there  are  no 
writers  of  any  note,  whose  works  have  come  down  to 
us,  who  have  not  had  a  great  deal  to  say  about  Jesus, 
and  the  progress  of  his  cause.  There  has  been  no 
historian,  or  other  writer  of  any  merit  now  for  long 
centuries  past,  who  seemed  able  to  find  any  other 
theme  for  his  pen,  but  the  religion  of  Him  who  has 
turned  the  world  upside  down. 

The  literature,  no  less  than  the  history  of  nations,  is 
pervaded  throughout  with  the  influence  that  circles 
about  the  name  of  Jesus.  We  can  hardly  take  up  a 
A'olume  of  poetry,  or  fiction,  or  other  literary  production, 
that  is  not  full  ol  the  name  of  Jesus.  Indeed,  we  scarcely 
know  how^  an  author  would  go  about  writing  a  book 
that  he  would  e.xpect  to  have  read,  who  should  leave 
out  Jesus.  Even  many  of  those  who  have  Avritten 
against  Christianity,  have  gained  the  most  of  their 
celebrity  as  authors,  by  what  they  have  written  on  the 
great  theme,  even  though  they  wrote  in  opposition. 

There  is  a  class  of  minds,  who  are  doubters  and  scep- 
tics— they  dwell  in  doubting-castle.     And  no  matter 


DOCTRINE    OF   THE    INCARNATION.  79 

what  the  cause  be,  they  must  know  what  can  be  said 
on  the  other  side.  What  would  the  world  know  about 
such  an  author  as  Strauss,  or  M.  Renan,  if  they  had  not, 
each,  written  the  life  of  Jesus  ?  These  works  have  pro- 
cured for  them,  the  ephemeral  reputation  which  they 
have  achieved  as  writers.  They  have  left  nothing  else 
to  survive  their  own  day.  A  writer  who  wants  to 
gain  reputation,  or  pelf,  cannot  afford  to  ignore  the 
great  fact  of  the  incarnation  of  Jesus  in  the  first  year 
of  the  present  era.  For  this  is  the  great  fact  of  the 
world,  that  forms,  as  before  remarked,  the  warp  and 
woof  of  its  history. 

I  shall  devote  the  remainder  of  this  chapter  to  the 
consideration  of  the  following  postulates  : 

I.  The  system  of  moral  government  must  have 
proved  a  failure,  without  the  incarnation. 

II.  There  could  have  been  no  salvation  without  the 
incarnation  of  Jesus. 

III.  It  will  bring  more  glory  to  God,  than  would 
have  been  possible  without  it. 

IV.  It  will  bring  more  happiness  and  joy  to  the  in- 
telligent universe  of  God,  than  would  have  been  pos- 
sible without  it. 

V.  It  is  no  objection  to  the  doctrine  of  the  incarna- 
tion, that  a  finite  creature  cannot  fully  comprehend  it. 

This  whole  subject,  as  was  before  distinctly  in- 
timated, is  purely  a  matter  of  Revelation,  and  does  not 
come  under  the  head  of  natural  science.  But  the 
fact,  that  it  belongs  properly  to  Revelation,  is  no 
reason  why,  as  a  study,  it  is  to  be  ignored  or  neg- 
lected. Reason  assures  us  that  there  must  be  a  line 
of  demarcation  between  thing^s  knowable  and  thing-s 


80  MOSES    AND   Tlllf:    PlIILOSOPIIERS. 

unknowable;  and  that  the  things  which  lie  beyond 
reason,  must  bcloncr  to  Revelation,  and  remain  forever 
unknown,  if  not  revealed.  In  eloquent  words,  the 
author  of  "Beulah"  wrote:  "Put  the  Bible  out  of 
sieht,  and  how  much  will  human  intellect  discover  con- 
cerning  our  origin — our  ultimate  destiny?  In  the 
morning  of  time,  sages  handled  these  vital  questions, 
and  died  not  one  step  nearer  the  truth  than  when  they 
began.  Now,  our  philosophers  struggle  honestly  and 
earnestly  to  make  plain  the  same  inscrutable  mysteries. 
Yes,  blot  out  the  records  of  Moses,  and  we  should 
grope  in  starless  night — for  notwithstanding  the  many 
priceless  blessings  it  has  discovered  for  man,  the  torch 
of  science  will  never  pierce  and  illumine  the  recesses 
over  which  the  Almighty  God  has  hung  His  veil. 
Here  we  see  indeed,  as  in  a  glass  darkly.  Yet  we 
believe  the  day  is  already  dawning,  when  scientific 
data  will  not  only  cease  to  be  antagonistic  to  scriptural 
accounts,  but  w^ill  deepen  the  impress  of  divinity  on 
the  pages  of  Holy  Writ ;  when  the  torch  shall  be 
taken  out  of  the  infidel's  hand,  and  set  to  burn  in  the 
temple  of  the  living  God  ;  when  science  and  religion 
shall  link  hands." 

The  tilings  which  most  concern  the  happiness  of 
man  in  this  world,  as  we  know,  are  those  which  he 
cannot  find  out  by  his  unaided  reason.  Blessed  is  he 
who  can  submit  his  reason  and  his  will  to  be  taught 
by  Him  who  is  the  Maker  of  all. 

I.  Our  first  postulate  is,  that  without  the  Incarnation 
of  Jesus,  the  moral  system  must  have  been  a  lailure. 
Christ  became  incarnate  in  order  to  uphold,  and  to 
perfect  the  system.     He  said  that  He  came  to  "  ful- 


DOCTRINE    OF    THE    INCARNATION  8 1 

fill  the  law."  He  said  that  He  came  to  seek  and  to 
save  that  which  was  lost,  which  he  could  do  only  by 
taking  their  law-place,  and  suffering  its  penalty  in 
their  room.  Paul  said  that  he  mao-nified  the  law  and 
made  it  honorable.  This  explains  the  object  and  the 
purpose  of  His  mission  into  the  world.  It  was  to  sus- 
tain and  uphold  the  moral  government. 

When  man  fell,  he  came  under  the  curse  of  death, 
and  we  have  seen  that  there  was  no  finite  beincr,  who 
could  satisfy  the  demands  of  the  law  for  him,  and  that 
if  the  law  had  been  permitted  to  take  its  natural 
course,  he  had  been  hopelessly  and  forever  lost. 
Therefore,  Jesus,  the  Second  person  in  the  Trinity, 
was  manifested  in  the  fiesh — was  made  under  the  law 
that  he  might  redeem  them  that  were  under  the  law. 

Man  had  sinned — and  man  had  to  die.  If  an  angel, 
or  some  other  being  had  died  for  man,  it  would  have 
been  no  atonement.  Therefore,  Jesus  became  a  man 
to  the  end  that  he  miorht  suffer  for  man.  As  a  man 
He  fulfilled  all  the  righteousness  of  the  law;  and  as 
a  man  He  suffered  the  just  penalty  of  the  broken  law. 
It  was  in  this  way  that  "He  magnified  the  law  and 
made  it  honorable." 

Some  weak  minds  have  imagined  that  it  was  the 
Godhead  which  died  in  the  person  of  Christ ;  and 
that  the  suffering  which  he  endured,  touched  His  Di- 
vinity. The  least  that  we  can  say  of  such  an  asser- 
tion is,  that  it  is  preposterous,  not  to  say  impious. 
God  cannot  die.  Nor  could  God,  as  God,  obey  a  law, 
or  a  rule  of  conduct  that  was  made  for  man.  There- 
fore, that  He  might  do  all  this  for  man,  He  had  to 
take  on  Him  the  nature  of  man. 
6 


82  MOSES    ANP    THF.    PIIILOSOIMIERS. 

Others,  ac^ain,  in  (l('riaiic(%  equally,  of  reason  and 
Scripture,  have  computed  the  amount  of  penal  suf- 
ferings, which  one  sinner  had  incurred,  and  have  mul- 
tiplied that  amount  h)-  the  number  of  sinners  saved, 
and  they  have  concluded  that  Jesus  must  have  en- 
dured a  penalty  equal  to  the  whole  aggregate  amount 
of  suffering,  thus  multiijlied  by  the  millions  who  were 
to  be  saved  by  Him.  As  it  is  certain  that  one  single 
human  being  could  not  endure  the  pain  and  agony  of 
millions  of  deaths  compressed  into  one,  they  must 
believe,  that  if  He  suffered  so  much,  the  suffering" 
must  have  reached  His  Divine  nature — that  it  was 
God  who  died,  not  man. 

If  there  had  been  only  one  sinner,  instead  of  a 
whole  race  to  be  saved,  Jesus  must  have  made  just 
the  atonement  which  He  made  for  the  entire  race,  or 
that  one  sinner  could  not  have  been  saved.  He  could 
not  have  saved  himself.  No  created  being  could  have 
saved  him.  The  same  satisfaction  that  would  avail 
for  one  sinner,  would  avail  for  any  number  of  the 
same  race,  because  the  intrinsic  value  or  merit  of  the 
atonement  comes  from  the  union  of  the  two  natures, 
the  human  and  the  Divine  in  the  person  of  Christ, 
whereby  the  Divine  could  do  the  work  of  humanity, 
or  suffer  the  pains  of  death,  thus,  as  it  were,  becoming 
finite  ;  and  also  the  finite  becomes  infinite  ;  and  the 
sufferings  of  Christ  are  as  efficacious  as  if  they  were 
the  sufferings  of  a  God,  because  He  is  both  God  and 
man. 

II.  The  second  postulate  affirms  that  there  could 
have  been  no  salvation — no  scheme  of  mercy  without 
the  Incarnation.     This  is  but  a  legitimate  conclusion 


DOCTRINE    OF    THE    INCAKNA  IION.  83 

from  the  forecjoino-.  The  scheme  of  frrace,  as  re- 
vealeti  in  the  Gospel,  is  only  the  supplement  of  the 
scheme  of  moral  government.  It  is  the  indefinite 
extension  or  carrying  out  of  that  government.  When 
the  subjects  of  that  government,  by  transgression  be- 
come involved  in  death,  if  the  penalty  is  executed 
against  them,  they  die  ;  and  that  would  be,  virtually, 
the  end  of  moral  government,  as,  without  subjects, 
there  could  be  no  government.  Therefore,  to  per- 
petuate the  moral  dispensation,  some  way  had  to  be 
devised  to  maintain  the  law,  and  to  meet  its  sanctions, 
as  Jesus  has  done,  whereby  the  law  is  upheld  in  its 
integrity ;  and  more  than  that,  as  the  apostle  says,  it 
"has  been  magnified  and  made  honorable." 

As  this  proposition  is  simply  a  deduction  from  the 
preceding  one,  it  is  sustained  by  a  similar  course  of 
reasoning,  and  I  proceed  to  the  third  proposition, 
viz. : 

III.  That  the  Incarnation  will  bring  more  glory  to 
God,  than  would  have  been  possible  without  it.  This 
can  be  made  intelligible  to  any  cultivated  and  devout 
mind. 

In  Chapter  IV.,  Part  Second,  it  was  shown  that  a 
physical  system  is  possible,  without  any  moral  system, 
and  that,  as  geologists  believe  was  the  case,  there 
might  have  been  a  material  world  in  existence  for  vast 
oreoloofical  acres,  before  the  aee  of  man,  when  there 
was  no  life,  only  in  the  horrible  monsters  of  the  deep, 
which  never  could  know  anything  of  God,  and  which 
He  made  and  governed  by  His  attribute  of  Omnipo- 
tence— by  physical  force  alone. 

This  physical  system  might  have  been  perpetuated 


84  MOSES    AND    THE    rillLOSOPHEKS. 

indefinitely  and  forever,  as  well  as  for  a  few  vast  geo- 
looical  periods.  But  where  would  have  been  the 
glory  to  God,  when  there  was  no  man  nor  other  intel- 
ligent being,  who  could  discover  the  wisdom,  the 
power,  or  the  goodness  of  God  in  His  works,  or 
render  praises  to  His  name? 

If  God  was  holy  in  His  nature;  if  just;  if  a  God 
of  love,  it  was  essential  to  His  glory  to  have  an  intel- 
ligent universe,  to  whom  he  could  display  these  per- 
fections. It  was  to  this  end  that  He  brought  the 
present  universe  into  existence — "Thou  hast  made  all 
things  for  thyself;  and  for  thy  pleasure  they  are  and 
were  created."  Could  the  Lord  have  constituted  the 
universe  as  it  is,  for  any  other,  or  for  any  better  end, 
than  His  own  pleasure? 

We  are  not  of  those  who  believe  that  the  universe 
gTowcd  into  existence,  or  that  it  sprung  up  of  chance. 
Plain]\',  it  is  the  result  of  intellio-ence.  It  was  made 
for  an  end,  and  it  was  made  according  to  a  plan.  It 
was  ordained  for  the  glory  of  God. 

We  have  seen  how  the  moral  system  was  brought 
in  for  the  manifestation  of  the  moral  perfections  of 
God — His  holiness,  justice,  and  mercy,  which  could 
not  have  been  displayed  under  a  dispensation,  exclu- 
sively physical.  We  have  seen  how  the  dispensation 
of  reward  and  punishment — of  good  and  evil — life  and 
death,  was  introduced  in  order  to  place  free  moral 
agents  on  the  merit  of  their  own  freeVolitions  and  moral 
conduct.  It  was  only  in  this  way  that  the  divine  princi- 
ples of  holiness,  justice,  and  mercy  could  be  displayed. 

The  crowning  excellence  in  the  Divine  character, 
if  we   may  give  a   preference   to  one  attribute   over 


DOCTRINE    OF    THE    INCARNATION.  85 

another,  is  mercy.  We  have  seen  how  God  mani- 
fested His  mercy — His  grace — His  love — for  they  are 
all  the  same — in  giving  His  Son  to  die  for  the  guilty 
race  of  Adam,  even  when  they  were  lost  beyond  the 
hope  of  redemption — so  lost  that  no  finite  being  could 
bring  deliverance,  or  even  devise  a  way  of  escape. 
This  is  the  exhibition  he  has  oriven  us  of  His  char- 

o 

acter. 

"GOD  IS  LOVE!"  This  is  written  in  the  sacred 
pages.  But  if  we  turn  our  eyes  towards  the  Cross, 
we  read  it  there  in  such  letters  as  were  never  written 
on  parchment  or  in  a  book.  O  there  is  not  a  holy 
intelliorence  in  all  the  bricrht  worlds  above,  nor  an  un- 
holy,  fallen  Spirit  in  tb-e  regions  of  the  lost,  who  can 
read  the  inscription  written  in  letters  of  crimson  on 
the  cross,  and  not  know  that  God  is  love  !  Not  one 
can  go  down  to  those  dark  regions,  passing  by,  in  the 
very  sight  of  the  cross,  and  trampling  on  redeeming 
blood,  without  a  burning  conviction,  not  only  that  God 
was  just  and  holy,  but  that  God  was  love  !  And  this 
will  constitute  the  severest  part  of  their  hell,  to  know 
what  love  they  had  slighted ! 

IV.  The  fourth  proposition  affirms  that  the  Incarna- 
tion will  bring  more  happiness  and  joy  to  the  intelli- 
gent universe,  than  would  have  been  possible  without 
it.  Knowledge  is  the  food  of  the  mind,,  even  as  we 
say  that  bread  is  the  aliment  of  the  body.  But  the 
knowledge  of  God  is  the  highest  kind  of  knowledge, 
and  it  is  absolutely  essential  to  the  happiness  of  intel- 
ligent beings,  created  originally  in  the  likeness  of 
God. 

There  may  be  degrees  in  bliss,  just  as   there  are 


86  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

{gradations  In  the  scale  of  knowledge.  And  the  rising 
or  tlie  sinkin<j^  in  the  former  scale,  will  be  in  the  ratio 
of  the  rising  or  the  sinking  in  the  latter  scale.  We 
could  not  suppose  the  soul  of  a  second  or  a  third 
rate  Christian,  with  just  a  little  knowledge,  and  barely 
able  to  pass  the  ordeal  that  lets  him  into  the  upper 
kingdom,  to  be  endowed  with  the  same  capacity  for 
happiness  as  the  soul  of  the  apostle  Paul,  who  had 
scaled  the  heights  of  all  knowledge. 

"  One  star  diff(rreth  from  another  star  in  glory." 
We  would  not  say  that  an  ignorant  rustic  or  clown, 
who  knows  not  the  alphabet  of  his  mother  tongue, 
has  an  equal  capacity  for  high,  pure,  and  rational 
enjoyments,  as  a  Bacon,  a  Locke,  or  a  Newton. 

We  admit  that  even  the  dumb  animals  have  a  ca- 
pacity for  a  certain  degree  and  kind  of  animal 
pleasure,  consisting  in  the  gratification  of  their  ani- 
mal instincts.  But  we  never  dignify  that  kind  of 
animal  pleasure  with  the  name  of  happiness.  And 
there  is  a  class  of  human  beings — animals — whose 
mental  faculties  have  been  so  neglected,  and  whose 
souls  are  so  steeped  in  sin,  that  they  have  no  idea  of 
any  pleasures  of  a  higher  nature  than  those  which 
they  share  in  common  with  the  brute-creation  ;  so  that 
they  seem  to  be  but  a  little  above  the  level  of  the 
lower  animals,  whom,  instead  of  envying,  we  pity. 
They  seem  conlciilcd — l)ut  we  do  not  sa)',  they  are 
happy.  It  may  be  true  that  to  them  ''ignorance  is 
bliss;  "  but  it  is  bliss  that  no  pure  and  cultivated  mind 
is  disposed  to  envy.  If  their  mere  negative  enjoy- 
ment can  be  called  bliss,  it  is  the  bliss  of  the  inebriate, 
or  the   maniac,  sporting  and  dancing  in  wild  glee,  on 


DOCTRINE    OF   THE    INCARNATION.  8/ 

the  brink  of  a  yawning  abyss,  unconscious  of  any 
dano-er ;  or  it  is  the  contentment  of  the  ox  crowned 
with  garlands,  while  being  led  to  the  slaughter. 

In  a  former  chapter,  the  proposition  was  elaborated, 
that  the  purest  and  the  highest  knowledge,  and  the 
only  knowledge  that  can  ultimately  satisfy  the  crav- 
ings of  an  immortal  mind,  is  the  knowledge  of  God. 
In  the  Incarnadon  of  the  Son  of  God,  the  Divine 
Father  has  made  known  the  loveliest  phase  of  His 
character,  since  it  was  thus  that  He  manifested  His 
love.  And  what  can  the  human  soul  desire  more, 
than  to  know  that  God  is  love  ?  That  is  the  knowl- 
edire  I  want  while  I  live — which  I  shall  want  when  I 
die,  and  when  I  shall  enter  the  borders  of  the  un- 
known land — to  know  that  God  is  love  !  With  that 
knowledsfe  I  shall  be  forever  blest!  Without  that 
knowledge,  all  other  knowledfre  will  count  for 
nothing! 

V.  In  the  fifth  and  last  place,  we  say,  it  is  no  objec- 
tion to  the  doctrine  of  the  Incarnation,  that  it  is  mys- 
terious. For  the  truth  is,  we  can  hardly  think  of  any- 
thing in  nature,  or  Providence,  or  Revelation,  that  is 
not  as  incomprehensible  as  this  mystery.  It  is  sur- 
prising that  anybody  should  bring  such  an  objection 
against  any  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures.  The  minutest 
thinors  as  well  as  the  "■'"eatest  that  come  under  our 
notice,  are  wrapped  in  mystery.  I  can  no  more  tell 
how  I  exist,  than  I  can  tell  how  the  ofreat  universe 
was  framed. 

Who  can  explain  how  the  minute  crystal  is  formed, 
that,  as  an  essential  factor,  enters  into  the  frame  work 
of  so  many  material  forms,  both  animate  and  inanimate? 


88  MOSES   AND    THK    rillLOSOPIIKKS. 

"So  minutelv  has  nature  wrouLrht  her  freometrical 
patterns,  that  they  are  found  to  reappear,  after  the 
most  minute  subdivision.  Ihe  g^eometric  stamp  is 
impressed  on  the  minutest  particle.  The  die  is  in- 
wrought beyond  the  farthest  process  of  cleavage,  or 
mere  mechanical  division.  Shiver  the  crystalline  mass 
as  we  may,  the  figure  still  lives.  Where  form  is  so 
deeply  and  curiousl)'  impressed,  we  must  surely  rec- 
ognise a  former.  Nature's  admirable  geometry  irre- 
sistibly points  to  nature's  geometer." 

Here  is  a  mystery  in  nature,  before  which  even  the 
sceptical  scientist  has  to  bow  in  profound  wonder, 
confessing  his  ignorance.  How  does  each  minute 
particle  of  matter  that  enters  into  the  mass,  get  its 
exact  and  perfect  geometrical  figure,  and  why  is  every 
atoni  in  the  mass  shaped  precisely  alike — a  cube,  a 
rhomboid,  or  some  other  geometrical  figun.-,  as  if 
each  one  had  been  cut  and  fashioned  according  to 
one  exact  pattern,  and  by  a  perfect  master  of  his  art? 
No  one  can  explain  this,  no  more  than  he  can  com- 
prehend how  God  exists,  or  unravel  the  mystery  of 
the  Incarnation, 

If  we  would  reflect  for  a  moment,  we  should  be  able 
to  see  mysteries  in  ourselves — mysteries  in  the  stars 
— mysteries  in  the  crystal  drop  of  water — mysteries 
in  the  Hake  of  falling  snow — mysteries  as  inexplicable 
to  finite  reason,  as  any  that  are  contained  in  Revela- 
tion. 

How  wonderfiil  to  think  that  the  human  heart  beats 
with  a  force  equal  to  sixty  pounds,  eighty  times  in  a 
minute,  without  tiring!  This  is  one  among  a  thousand 
mysteries  connected  with  our  life.  Can  any  scientist 
solve  this  mystery? 


DOCTRINE    OF    THE    INXARNATION,  89 

Again,  who  can  tell,  where  is  the  point  of  contact 
between  mind  and  matter?  We  are  very  conscious 
of  the  fact  that  we  think — but  how  we  think,  we  are 
not  conscious.  We  don't  know  how  the  process  is 
carried  on.  But  we  know  that  we  think,  and  we  know 
just  as  well,  that  matter  cannot  think.  Therefore,  we 
conclude  that  there  is  somethinij  which  we  call  mind — 
something  which  is  not  matter,  and  which  can  think — 
and  that  is  all  we  can  know  about  it.  The  mystery  is 
just  as  inscrutable  as  any  doctrine  of  Revelation.  The 
man  is  a  fool,  who  resolves  to  believe  nothing  which 
he  cannot  comprehend,  since  he  could  not  be  abso- 
lutely sure  that  there  is  anything  in  the  universe 
which  he  would  believe. 

A  reflection.  With  a  reflection  I  close  this  chapter. 
In  this,  and  the  two  preceding  chapters,  the  final  cause 
of  things  has  been  unfolded.  God  is  love.  God's 
nature  is  eternal.  God  always  loved.  It  was  a  social 
love,  and  love  is  an  active  principle.  Therefore  the 
love  of  God  had  to  find  some  outward  expression. 
Hence  the  eternal  purpose  of  Grace  in  Christ.  The 
church  redeemed  by  the  blood  of  Christ  was  born  of 
this  love.  "For  God  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave 
His  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in 
Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life." 
We  may  spend  eternity  on  this  one  thought,  but  we 
shall  never  be  able  fully  to  grasp  it.  God  was  rich, 
was  blessed  in  the  love  of  His  Son,  and  the  Son  was 
rich  in  the  love  of  His  Father.  And  this  love  between 
the  persons  in  the  blessed  Trinity,  was  perfect,  and 
full,  and  might  have  continued  forever.  But  they  had 
no  kingdom  of  love — no  subjects  of  grace,  w^ho  could 


90  MOSES    AND    TIIF,    IMllI.OSOrilF.RS. 

experience,    and    know    the    deptli,  and    height,    and 
leng-th,  and  breadth  of  that  love.     The   stars  and  the 
planets  could  not  love  God.     They  could  shine  to  His 
glory,  and   that  is  all.     And  God  could  not  love  the 
stars,  and  the  suns  that  shine  to  His  glory.    He  could 
pronounce  them  good,  and    that   is   all.     The   plants, 
and  the  animals  endowed  with  instinct,  and  governed 
by  physical  laws,  could  not  love  God,  and  God  could 
not  love  the  flowers,  the  plants,  and   the  inferior  ani- 
mals.     He  could    pronounce  them  good — very  good, 
and   that  was  all.     The  principalities   and   powers,  in 
heavenly  places,  who  were  created  holy,  who  never 
knew  anything  of  the  nature  of  sin,  nor  of  the  need 
of  a  Saviour,  cannot  love  God.     Tliey  can   adore  and 
worship  Idim,  and  they  cannot  do  otherwise,  for  that 
is  their  nature.     And  God  cannot  love  those  sinless 
beings,  as  He  loves  those  who  have  known   His  love 
through  the  redemption  of  Christ.      He  is  well  pleased 
with  their  existence,  for  they  occupy  a  glorious  sphere, 
but  they  cost  Hjm  nothing,  only  the  word  that  spoke 
them   into  existence.      He   never  lavished  upon   them 
the  riches  of  His  love.      He  wanted  an  order  of  sub- 
jects on  whom  He  could  pour  out  all  that  wealth  of  love 
that  was  in   His  heart  from   et(;rnity.      But  to  obtain 
such  subjects  of  grace,  and  to  lavish   His  love  upon 
them,  Jesus   had   to   die,  and    to   |)our  out    His  blood. 
This  was   the   reason   that   He  becaiiv;  incarnate,  and 
He  consented  to  this  from  eternity.     Now  He  has  a 
kingdom  of  love,  and  this  is  His  reward.     Millions  of 
subjects  have  been  willing  to  show  their  love  to  Him, 
by   dying   for    Him.      Every   one   redeemed    b)'    Him, 
would  be  willing  to  die  for  Him.     And  if  they  cannot 


DOCTRINE    OF    THE    INCARNATION.  9I 

die  for  Him,  they  will  show  their  love  to  Him  by  suf- 
fering for  Him — by  bearing  the  cross,  by  enduring 
tribulation,  or  persecution,  or  afflictions.  In  some 
way  they  will  want  to  show  their  love.  He  calls  them 
His  'y'cwcls.''  This  is  His  reward — this  the  joy  that 
was  set  before  Him,  on  account  of  which  "He  endured 
the  cross,  despising  the  shame,  and  is  now  set  down 
at  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of  God."  It  was 
wholly  a  voluntary  thing  on  His  part.  He  could  have 
got  along  very  well  through  the  eternity  to  come,  as 
well  as  in  the  eternity  past,  without  a  kingdom  of  love 
— and  without  any  of  this  suffering.  But  any  one 
who  is  the  least  in  that  kingdom  of  Grace,  and  has 
felt  His  love,  would  be  willing  to  say  that  if  he  owned 
ten  thousand  worlds,  he  would  willingly  give  all  to  be 
a  subject  of  that  kingdom  of  love. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Human   Character  of  testis. 

Two  natures  in  one  person — When  the  union  was  constituted — Born  of  a  virgin 
— Announcfment  of  Gabriel — The  difficulty  with  Joseph — How  he  was  rec- 
oncile!—  An  olijcction  by  an  inlidel — Guilt  of  raiionalists — Jesus  as  a  Teacher 
— Peeiiess  wisdom  ami  purity  of  doctrine — Sermon  on  the  Mount — Testimony 
of  Daniel  Websiei — Testimony  of  Renan — His  wise  and  appropriate  answers 
— I5eyond  crilicism — Ili^  manner  of  life — A  eharacier  without  spot  or  blemish 
— No  i>erson.d  ambition — iMilike  all  others — Would  not  be  a  king — Without 
covetousness — Never  known  lo  take  fee  or  reward — His  voluntary  poverty — 
Few  followers — His  humility — Example,  blessing  the  little  children — Meek- 
ness of  Jesus — Never  retaliated  a  wrong — Never  showed  anger — Proofs  of 
His  meekness — His  piety  as  seen  in  His  life  of  prayer — His  physical  manhood 
— No  inspired  account — Letter  of  Publius  Lentulus — No  reason  to  doubt  its 
authenticity — The  conclusion  —  Pilate's  question — The  question  for  every 
human  being — Multiplying  copies  of  the  Record. 

JESUwS  was  God,  and  Jesus  was  man — true  God, 
and  true  man — now,  henceforth,  and  forever,  the 
God-man — havini^  the  two  natures  united  in  His 
person.  As  God  He  had  no  orii^in — no  beginning. 
He  existed  from  eternity.  His  "goings  forth  were 
from  ot  old,  from  everlasting."  The  prophet  calls  Him 
the  "Everlasting  Fatlu;r,"  or,  as  we  may  read  it,  "/he 
Father  of  Eternity  y  But  as  a  man,  His  existence  had 
a  beginning.  He  became  a  man  when  He  was  made 
under  the  law,  to  redeem  them  that  were  under  the 
law.  He  was  made  "in  the  likeness  of  flesh,"  but 
without  sin,  and  became  human  when  He  was  con- 
(92) 


THE    HUMAN    CHARACTER    OF    JESUS.  93 

ceived  in  the  womb  of  the  virgin  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 
It  was  thus  that  the  union  of  the  two  natures  was 
constituted. 

I  purpose,  in  this  chapter,  to  dwell  on  the  humanity 
of  Jesus — to  give  a  bare  outline  of  His  human  char- 
acter, as  He  walked  this  earth,  and  as  He  appeared 
among  men.  I  am  aware  that  this  attempt  will  be  a 
failure,  and  that  I  shall  come  far  short  of  giving  a  true 
description.  I  am  not  vain  enough  to  think  myself 
competent  to  such  an  undertaking.  And  I  expect 
that  readers  will  say,  this  is  the  most  defective  chap- 
ter in  the  whole  work.  How  shall  I  attempt  a  por- 
traiture of  one  who  was  absolutely  faultless  ?  How 
would  any  writer,  all  imperfect  himself,  and  who  never 
saw  a  human  being  that  was  without  sin,  go  about  to 
describe  a  sinless  character?  Where  would  he  find 
his  ideal  ?  From  what  source  would  he  obtain  his 
ideas  in  order  to  sketch  such  a  character? 

All  that  I  shall  aim  to  do,  will  be  to  present  some 
of  the  general  features,  or  outlines  in  that  perfect 
character,  as  I  find  them  drawn  by  the  pen  of  in- 
spiration. My  work  would  be  defective  in  a  very 
important  particular,  if  I  should  altogether  omit  such 
a  general  outline  of  the  human  character  of  Jesus. 
The  fact  that  one  such  character  has  appeared  in  the 
world,  is  as  great  a  wonder  as  any  miracle  that  was 
ever  wrought,  since  time  began.  It  is  sufficient,  in 
itself,  to  stop  the  mouth  of  every  infidel. 

Before  giving  the  principal  traits  in  that  character, 
It  may  be  proper  briefly  to  advert  to  some  of  the  cir- 
cumstances that  accompanied  His  birth  into  the  world. 
He  was  to  be  born  of  a  virgin.     The  prophet  said: 


94  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

"  BehoUl,  a  virL^in  sliall  conceive,  and  bear  a  Son, 
and  shall  call  His  name  Immanucl." 

or  course,  the  infidel  rejects  this  prophecy.  But 
there  it  is,  written  some  seven  hundred  years  before 
the  event.  Was  it  accomplished  in  the  birth  of  Christ  ? 
The  world  never  witnessed  another  birth  like  it.  Let 
us  read  the  record  in  the  New  Testament. 

"The  angel  Gabriel  was  sent  from  God  unto  a  city 
of  Galilee,  named  Nazareth,  to  a  virn^in  espoused  to  a 
man  whose  name  was  Joseph,  of  the  house  of  David  ; 
and  the  virgin's  name  was  Mary.  And  the  angel 
came  unto  her,  and  said:  Hail,  thou  that  art  highly 
favored ;  the  Lord  is  with  thee,  blessed  art  thou 
among  women.  And  when  she  saw  him,  she  was 
troubled  at  his  saying,  and  cast  in  her  mind  what 
manner  of  salutation  this  should  be.  And  the  angel 
said  unto  her,  Fear  not,  Mary;  for  thou  hast  found 
favor  with  God.  And  behold,  thou  shalt  conceive  in 
thy  womb,  and  bring  forth  a  Son,  and  shalt  call  His 
name  Jesus.  He  shall  be  great,  and  shall  be  called 
the  Son  of  the  Highest,  and  die  Lord  God  shall  give 
unto  Him  the  throne  of  His  father  David;  and  He 
shall  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  forever;  and  of 
His  kingdom  there  shall  be  no  end." 

This  was  no  ordinary  event  that  was  announced  by 
the  angel.  When  the  fulfilment  of  all  prophecy  was 
to  be  consummated,  it  was  fitting  that  Gabriel  should  be 
commissioned  as  the  angel  from  heaven  to  break  the 
tidings  to  Mary.  There  is  this  farther  account  in 
connection  with  the  birth  of  Jesus: 

"When  as  His  mother  Mary  was  espoused  to 
Joseph,  before  they  came  together,  she  was  found 
with  child  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     Then  Joseph,  being  a 


THE    HUMAN    CHARACTER    OF    JESUS.  95 

just  man,  and  not  willing  to  make  her  a  public  ex- 
ample, was  minded  to  put  her  away  privily." 

Joseph  was  a  natural  man,  and,  therefore,  could  have 
had  no  idea  of  an  immaculate  conception.  In  the  cir- 
cumstances he  acted  as  any  other  man  would  have 
clone.  Yet  afterward,  Joseph  took  unto  hini  his  es- 
poused wife  Mary.  Of  course,  all  suspicion  as  to  her 
infidelity  to  him,  had  been  removed  Irom  his  mind. 
The  evidence  that  had  convinced  him  was  of  such  a 
nature  as  to  leave  no  doubt.  While  he  was  meditating 
on  the  scheme  of  putting  her  away,  an  angel  appeared 
to  him,  saying, 

"Joseph,  thou  son  of  David,  fear  not  to  take  unto 
thee  Mary  thy  wife  ;  for  that  which  is  conceived  in 
her  is  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  And  she  shall  bring  forth 
a  son,  and  thou  shalt  call  His  name  Jesus;  for  He 
shall  save  His  people  from  their  sins." 

And  the  narrative  adds: 

"Then  Joseph  being  raised  from  sleep,  did  as  the 
angel  of  the  Lord  had  bidden  him,  and  took  unto  him 
his  wife;  and  knew  her  not  till  she  had  brought  forth 
her  first  born  Son,  and  he  called  His  name  Jesus." 

Joseph  was  perfectly  satisfied.  And  we  may  cer- 
tainly conclude  that  no  evidence  short  of  a  demon- 
stration, as  the  miraculous  interposition  was,  would 
have  convinced  him  or  any  other  man  in  the  same  or 
similar  circumstances.  For  there  never  was  a  hum.an 
birth  like  it.  And  no  rationalist  believes  such  a  birth 
to  be  possible.  This  was  the  argument  of  Strauss,  a 
great  German  infidel,  against  the  Divine  origin  of 
Jesus.     He  wrote,  in  his  "Life  of  Christ:" 


96  MOSES    AND    TFIE    Pini.rSOPHF.RS. 

"However  obscure  the  physiology  of  the  fact,  it  Is 
proved  by  an  exceptionless  experience  that  only  by 
the  concurrence  of  the  two  sexes,  is  a  new  human 
being  generated." 

And  this  opinion  is  adopted  by  all  who  believe  that 
Jesus  was  only  a  natural  man.  They  have  to  say  that 
foseph  or  some  other  man  was  his  natural  father. 
And  taking  this  position  they  have  to  say  further, 
that  lose])h,  and  Mary,  and  Jesus  Himself  entered 
into  a  conspiracy  to  palm  off  on  the  world,  the  most 
stupendous  and  the  most  successful  fraud  ever  known, 
even  exceeding  that  of  the  false  prophet,  Mahomet, 
six  centuries  later.  But  Jesus  claimed  to  have  a  Di- 
vine origin.  He  always  asserted  that  He  came  down 
from  heaven,  and  that  God  was  His  Father.  And  He 
certainly  was  sincere  in  this  claim.  But  if  He  had  only 
a  human  origin,  and  was  born  like  every  other  man. 
He  must  have  known  it.  And  Joseph  and  Mary  must 
have  known  it.  Who  can  believe  that  they  entered 
into  such  a  conspiracy  to  deceive  the  world?  I  will 
quote  here  the  word  of  Jesus : 

"Whosoever  shall  fall  on  this  stone,  shall  be  broken, 
but  on  whomsoever  it  shall  hW,  it  shall  grind  him  to 
powder." 

But  if,  now,  we  take  but  the  most  cursory  glance  at 
the  earthly  life  of  Jesus,  and  His  doctrine,  while  He 
went  about  amongst  men  as  a  Teacher,  they  will  fur- 
nish the  best  vindication  against  the  charge  of  impos- 
ture. And  let  us  look  first  at  the  surpassing  wisdom, 
beauty,  and  sublimity  of 

His  Doctrine. 
It   is  admitted   by   both   friends   and   foes,  that    no 


THE    HUMAN   CHARACTER    OF    JESUS.  9/ 

greater  or  wiser  Teacher  of  morals  and  religion  has 
ever  appeared  among  men.  He  was  an  infallible 
Teacher,  because  He  never  made  any  mistakes.  No 
one — not  even  any  enemy  has  ever  been  able  to  point 
out  a  sintrle  error  in  His  teachincrs.  He  was  abso- 
lutely  perfect  in  wisdom.  And  yet  it  Is  not  known 
that  He  ever  attended  any  Institution  of  human 
learning,  a  single  day  In  His  life.  Even  those  who 
rejected  Him  in  His  lifetime,  had  to  confess  His 
wisdom  like  many  in  the  present  day,  who,  while  they 
deny  the  divinity  of  Jesus,  have  to  admit  the  extraor- 
dinary wisdom  and  purity  of  all  the  sayings  and  doc- 
trines ascribed  to  Him.  There  is  great  Inconsistency 
In  this.  For,  if,  as  they  say,  Jesus  was  only  a  man 
and  an  impostor,  who  had  never  had  the  adv^antages 
of  education,  but  was  brought  up  as  a  carpenter,  how^ 
do  they  account  for  the  fact  that  He  was  the  subllmest 
Teacher  of  morals,  who  ever  appeared  on  earth  ? 

It  Is  testified  that  when  Jesus  taught  in  the  Syna- 
gogue, In  His  own  native  village,  they  were  astonished, 
and  said,  "  whence  hath  this  man  this  wisdom,  and  these 
mighty  works?  Is  not  this  the  carpenter's  son  ?  Is 
not  His  mother  called  Mary  ?  and  His  brethren 
James,  and  Joses,  and  Simon,  and  Judas?  and  His 
sisters,  are  they  not  all  with  us?  Whence  then,  hath 
this  man  all  these  things?  And  they  were  offended 
In  Him." 

"  They  were  offended  in  Him  !  "  Strange  record  I 
And  yet  how  exactly  in  accord  with  the  conduct  of 
every  succeeding  generation  of  men  !  They  are  of- 
fended in  Jesus,  while  they  admit  the  sinless  purity  of 
His  life,  and  concede  that  no  man  ever  spake  as  He 
7 


98  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

did.  It  may  be  appropriate  here  to  quote  a  few  verses 
from  tliat  sermon  of  sermons,  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  as  a  specimen  of  the  general  tenor  u(  His 
teachings : 

"Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit,  for  theirs  is  the 
kingdom  of  heaven. 

Blessed  are  the  meek,  for  they  shall  inherit  the 
earth. 

Blessed  are  they  which  do  hunger  and  thirst  after 
righteousness,  for  they  shall  be  filled. 

Blessed  are  the  merciful,  for  they  shall  obtain 
mercy. 

Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall  see 
God. 

Blessed  are  the  peace-makers,  for  they  shall  be 
called  the  children  of  God. 

Blessed  are  they  which  are  persecuted  for  right- 
eousness' sake,  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

Blessed  are  ye,  when  men  shall  revile  you,  and 
persecute  you,  and  say  all  manner  of  evil  against  you 
falsely  for  my  sake.  Rejoice  and  be  exceeding  glad, 
for  great  is  your  reward  in  heaven  ;  for  so  persecuted 
they  the  prophets  which  were  before  you." 

Take  another  brief  quotation  from  the  same  sermon  : 

"Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  destroy  the  law  or 
the  prophets;  I  am  not  come  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfill. 

For  verily  I  say  unto  you,  till  heaven  and  earth 
shall  pass,  one  jot  or  one  tittle,  shall  in  no  wise  pass 
from  the  law,  till  all  be  fulfilled. 

Whosoever,  therefore,  shall  break  one  of  these 
least  commandments,  and  shall  teach  men  so,  he  shall 
be  called  the  least  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven;  but 
whosoever  shall  do  and  teach  them,  the  same  shall  be 
called  great  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

F'or  1  say  unto  you  that  except  your  righteousness 


THE    HUMAN    CHARACTER    OF   JESUS.  99 

shall  exceed  the  rlofhteousness  of  the  Scribes  and 
Pharisees,  ye  shall  in  no  case  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  heaven." 

It  might  enhance,  still  more,  the  value  of  these 
pages,  to  quote  the  whole  of  that  immortal  discourse 
on  the  Mount.  For  every  word  and  every  sentence 
in  it,  as  Solomon  says  of  words  fitly  spoken,  would  be 
like  "  apples  of  gold  in  pictures  of  silver." 

Daniel  Webster  once  said,  concerning  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount,  that,  if  all  other  evidence  were  wanting, 
this  alone  proves  that  Jesus  was  more  than  a  man — 
that  He  was  divine,  as  it  could  not  have  been  the  pro- 
duction of  any  ordinary  mortal. 

But  we  have  some  in  our  day  affirming  that  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  if  ever  preached  at  all,  was  the 
production  of  a  natural  man — a  man  without  educa- 
tion— an  impostor,  and  a  pretender  at  the  best.  Let 
us  look  at  another  specimen  of  the  instructions  that 
were  w^ont  to  fall  from  the  lips  of  Jesus.  It  is  taken 
from  His  conversation  with  the  woman  of  Samaria. 
Jesus  said  unto  her: 

"Woman,  believe  me,  the  hour  cometh  when  ye 
shall  neither  in  this  mountain,  nor  yet  at  Jerusalem, 
worship  the  Father.  Ye  worship  ye  know^  not  w'hat ; 
we  know  what  we  worship  ;  for  salvation  is  of  the 
Jews.  But  the  hour  cometh,  and  now  is,  w^hen  the 
true  worshippers  shall  worship  the  Father  in  spirit 
and  in  truth  ;  for  the  Father  seeketh  such  to  worship 
Him.  God  is  a  Spirit,  and  they  that  worship  Him, 
must  worship  in  spirit  and  in  truth." 

No  pagan  nation  in  the  world  ever  entertained  such 
high  and  correct  notions  concerning  God  and  the  na- 


100  MOSES    AND    THE    nilLOSOPHERS. 

turc  of  religious  worsliip,  as  arc  inculcated  in  these 
brief  sentences.  M.  Renan,  who  attempted  to  write 
a  life  of  Jesus,  comments  on  the  above  passage  as 
follows  : 

"On  the  day  when  He  (Jesus)  pronounced  these 
words,  He  was  indeed  the  Son  of  God,  He,  for  the 
first  time,  gave  utterance  to  the  idea  upon  which  sliall 
rest  the  edifice  of  the  everlasting  religion.  He 
founded  the  pure  worship,  of  no  age,  of  no  clime, 
which  shall  be  that  of  lofty  souls  to  the  end  of  time. 
Not  only  was  His  religion  that  day  the  benign  re- 
ligion of  humanity,  but  it  was  the  absolute  religion  ; 
and  if  other  planets  have  inhabitants  endowed  with 
reason  and  morality,  their  religion  cannot  be  different 
from  that  which  Jesus  proclaimed  at  Jacob's  well." 

It  is  wonderful  that  one  who  had  no  faith  in  the  di- 
vinity of  Jesus,  could  have  given  utterance  to  the  above 
eloquent  tribute.  We  believe,  with  Renan,  that  the 
inhabitants  of  other  planets,  endowed  with  reason  and 
morality,  will  worship  God  in  the  manner  proclaimed 
by  Jesus — that  there  will  be  one  religion  for  the  en- 
tire universe.  Whatever  the  occasion  was  which  drew 
forth  the  remarks  of  the  Saviour,  whatever  the  cir- 
cumstances that  surrounded  Him  at  the  time,  or  what- 
ever class  of  persons  He  happened  to  address.  He 
always  made  use  of  the  w.ords  most  fitting  the  occa- 
sion, the  time,  the  circumstances,  and  the  people  to 
whom  He  spoke.     He  never  made  a  mistake. 

When  His  enemies  crowded  about  Him,  as  fre- 
quently they  did,  to  catch  something  out  of  His 
mouth,  and  when  they  put  hard  qu(^stions  to  entangle 
Him,  and  make  Him  commit  Himself  so  that  they 
might  accuse  Him,  He  always  answered  wisely  and 


THE    HUMAN    CHARACTER    OF   JESUS.  lOl 

discreetly,  so  that  they  were  astonished  at  His 
answers.  They  could  not  entangle  .  Him.  They 
could  find  nothing  in  His  words  whereof  to  accuse 
Him. 

For  example,  when  they  asked  the  question, 
"Master,  is  it  lawful  to  render  tribute  unto  Caesar  or 
not?  He  immediately  asked  them  to  show  Him  a 
penny ;  and  looking  at  it.  He  asked  whose  image  and 
superscription  is  this  ? "  And  when  they  said, 
Caesar's;  He  responded:  "Render  therefore,  unto 
Csesar,  the  things  that  are  Caesar's,  and  unto  God  the 
things  that  are  God's."  There  is  no  philosopher, 
living  or  dead,  who  could  have  exceeded  the  wisdom 
and  fitness  of  that  answer.  If  He  had  said  that  it  was 
right,  or  lawful,  to  give  tribute  unto  Caesar,  He  would 
have  rendered  Himself  odious  and  unpopular  among 
the  people,  as  they  were  Impatient  of  the  Roman  yoke. 
But  if  He  had  answered  that  it  was  not  lawful  to  eive 
tribute,  they  would  have  accused  Him  to  the  Roman 
authorities  as  a  dangerous  and  seditious  person,  and 
would  have  procured  His  arrest — so  that  no  matter 
which  way  He  had  answered  the  question.  He  would 
have  got  into  trouble. 

Many  a  wise  man  would,  perhaps,  have  said,  that 
he  could  not  answer ;  or,  would  have  evaded  a  direct 
reply.  But  not  so  with  Jesus.  He  answered  promptly, 
and  gave  the  only  appropriate  answer  which  the  ques- 
tion admitted.  And  all  the  people  were  astonished. 
And  such  scenes  as  this  were  enacted  over  and  over 
again,  almost  daily.  Jesus  never  taught  sedition.  On 
another  occasion  we  read  that  certain  Scribes  and 
Pharisees  came  to  Him,  which  were  of  the  Jews, 
saying: 


102  MOSES    AND    TFIE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

"Why  do  thy  disciples  transgress  the  tradition  of 
the  elders?  for  they  wash  not  their  hands,  when  they 
eat  bread.  Hut  He  answercxl  and  said  unto  them, 
wh)-  do  ye  also  transgress  the  commandment  of  God 
by  your  tradition?  For  God  commanded,  saying-, 
honor  thy  father  and  mother;  and  he  diat  curseth 
father  or  mother,  let  him  die  the  death.  But  )  e  say, 
whosoever  shall  say  unto  his  father  or  his  mother,  it 
is  a  gift  by  whatsoever  thou  mightest  be  profited  by 
me,  and  honor  not  his  father  or  his  mother,  he  shall 
be  free.  Thus  have  ye  made  die  commandment  of 
God  of  none  effect,  by  your  tradition." 

It  would  be  impossible  to  conceive  how  a  more 
just  and  timely  rebuke,  or  in  more  Ikting-  terms,  could 
have  been  administered  against  their  hypocrisy.  They 
could  trample  under  foot  the  positive  ordinances  of 
God,  while  they  pretended  to  be  very  zealous  for  the 
traditions  of  the  elders.  Jesus  shows  their  inconsist- 
enc)\  while  He  rebukes  them  for  their  sin  ;  and  yet  He 
did  it  so  that  they  could  not  possibly  take  offence  at 
His  reproof. 

And,  so  on  every  occasion  Jesus  showed  Himself 
equal  to  the  emergency,  always  uttering  the  most  ap- 
propriate words  at  the  proper  time,  and  the  most  suit- 
able for  the  occasion  and  the  hearers.  No  such  char- 
acter ever  app(  ared  on  earth  before  Him,  and  none 
such  will  ever  be  seen  on  earth  again. 

At  a  very  precocious  age,  even  in  early  childhood, 
Jesus  manifested  the  same  wonderful  intelligence. 
At  the  age  of  twelve,  St.  Luke  tells  us.  He  was  found 
in  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  "sitting  in  the  midst  of  the 
doctors,  both  hearing  th(Mii,  and  asking  them  ques- 
tions. And  all  that  heard  Him  were  astonished  at 
His  understandin<r  and  answers." 


THE    HUMAN    CHARACTER    OF   JESUS.  IO3 

This  argument  from  the  human  wisdom  of  Jesus,  is 
one  which,  if  there  were  no  other,  ought  to  estabHsh 
His  claim  to  be  the  Son  of  God.  His  sayings  are 
beyond  criticism.  On  one  occasion  it  is  said  that  "  all 
the  people  bare  Him  witness,  and  wondered  at  the 
gracious  words  which  proceeded  out  of  His  mouth." 
And  yet,  a  little  while  after,  the  very  same  people  led 
Him  to  the  brow  of  the  hill,  on  which  their  city  was 
built,  that  they  might  cast  Him  down  headlong."  This 
incident  in  His  life  shows  what  human  nature  is.  We 
often  witness  similar  illustrations. 

The  popular  French  author,  M,  Renan,  before 
quoted,  pronounced  Jesus  the  Son  of  God,  on  the 
clay  when  He  uttered  those  wonderful  words — never 
before  uttered,  and  containincf  the  sum  of  the  relii-ion 
of  the  universe;  yet  he  writes  a  book  "to  cast  Him 
down  headlong,"  if  it  had  been  in  his  power— to 
prove  that  He  was  not  the  Son  of  God,  but  only  a 
pretender. 

His  Manner  of  Life, 

Let  us  now  look  at  the  human  character  of  Jesus, 
as  exhibited  in  tire  manner  of  His  living,  and  in  the 
human  excellences  and  virtues  that  adorned  His  char- 
acter. It  was  a  character  without  spot  or  blemish. 
Under  the  old  dispensation,  the  lambs  intended  for 
sacrifice  had  to  be  without  spot  or  blemish,  as  they 
were  types  of  Him  w^ho  was  to  be  the  great  sacrifice 
for  sin,  called,  therefore, ''the  Lamb  of  GodT 

The  testimony  concerning  His  human  character  is, 
that,  "He  knew  no  sin" — that  He  was  "holy,  harm- 
less, undefiled,  and  separate  from  sinners" — "neither 


104  MOSES    AND   Tlin    PHILOSOPHERS. 

was  there  any  ijuile  found  in  Ills  moutli."  He  was 
"meek  and  lowly  "  in  the  temper  of  His  mind — He 
was  without  personal  ambition — He  was  perfectly 
free  from  the  sin  of  covetousness — He  never  sought 
His  own  personal  case,  pleasure,  or  emolument,  but 
He  went  about  doing  good.  He  was  kind,  tender, 
gracious  in  His  disposition,  always  ready  to  relieve  the 
wants  of  the  afflicted  and  distressed,  when  they  ap- 
plied to  Him.  .  Let  us  look  at  His  character  in  several 
of  these  featun^s  now  enumerated,  especially  those 
wherein  He  differed  from,  and  rose  so  far  above  or- 
dinary mortals. 

I.  And  first,  let  us  observe  that  He  was  without 
personal  ambition,  in  wliich  respect  He  was  certainly 
an  exception  among  men.  An  aspiring  disposition 
is  common  to  all  men.  It  seems,  indeed,  to  be  insep- 
arable froni  human  nature,  as  it  now  is.  We  see  the 
p-erms  of  it  even  in  younir  children,  in  their  rivalries 
and  jealousies,  and  their  efforts  to  get  one  above 
another.  We  see  exhibitions  of  it  in  every  condition 
of  society,  and  in  every  sphere  w^herein  men  are 
called  to  act. 

Every  man  who  has  education,  or  talents,  or  gifts 
of  any  kind,  begins  to  aspire  to  place  or  distinction, 
or  powder  and  pre-eminence  among  his  fellow-men. 
This  is  the  fruitful  source  of  contentions,  and  feuds, 
and  wars  in  every  country.  How  often  the  peace  of 
cities  and  whole  nations  is  threatened  by  the  personal 
ambitions  of  men,  who  seem  to  recognize  no  divinity 
but  that  which  they  imagine  to  be  their  own  rising 
star,  and  who  are  willing  to  wade  through  blood  to 
attain  to  distinction  or  a  throne. 


THE    HUMAN    CHARACTER    OF   JESUS.  I05 

Jesus  had  not  a  spark  of  this  ambition  in  His  nature, 
and  yet  no  man  ever  possessed  more  popular  talents. 
No  man  was  ever  more  followed  or  flattered,  and  no 
one  ever  made  a  more  favorable  impression  on  the 
mind  of  the  populace  than  Jesus,  He  could  have 
made  Himself  a  king",  if  He  had  possessed  any  aspira- 
tions of  the  kind.  It  would  have  been  an  easy  matter 
to  have  taken  possession  of  the  temporal  throne  of 
His  father  David.  For  on  more  than  one  occasion 
the  multitudes  who  followed  Him  showed  a  disposition 
to  take  Him,  even  by  force,  and  to  make  Him  their 
king.  But  Jesus  had  no  such  ambition.  He  came 
into  the  world  for  a  very  different  end.  And  it  is  re- 
corded that  He  had  to  tear  Himself  away  from  the 
people — to  hide  from  them — to  go  into  the  desert  or 
the  mountains,  apart  by  Himself,  to  keep  from  being 
made  a  kine.  This  is  a  sino-ular  record,  and  one  that 
Is  not  true  of  any  other  genius,  who  has  ever  made 
his  appearance  on  the  stage  of  human  action.  Jesus 
was  entirely  indifferent  to  the  honors  of  this  world, 
if  He  had  been  only  a  man,  it  is  not  credible  that  He 
should  have  pursued  the  course  He  did.  It  is  against 
human  nature  to  show  such  indifference,  and  even  re- 
pugnance, to  the  honors,  and  the  distinction  that 
cometh  of  the  world. 

2.  Again,  His  character,  as  portrayed  in  the  New- 
Testament,  shows  that  He  was  absolutely  free  from 
the  sin  of  covetousness.  He  souorht  not  His  own. 
There  was  nothing  like  avarice  in  His  nature.  Jesus 
was  born  very  poor,  and  He  inherited  no  wealth. 
But  If  He  had  coveted  these  things,  He  could  have 
had  riches  and  honor  to  His  heart's  content. 


I06  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

A  man  who  could  raise  the  dead — who  could  make 
the  deaf  to  hear — who  could  open  the  eyes  of  one 
born  blind — and  who.  with  a  word  or  a  touch,  could 
heal  the  sick,  the  pal^'  '1,  the  maimed,  and  the  halt, 
could  have  heaped  up  filthy  lucre  to  almost  any  extent, 
b)'  the  exercise  of  His  wonderful  gifts.  It  is  in  this 
way  that  others  make  fortunes  and  grow  rich,  if  they 
know  anything  of  the  healing  art.  But  it  is  not  known 
that  J'sus  ever  took  a  fee,  for  any  of  the  thousands  of 
cures  which  lie  wrought.  No  matter  how,  or  b)'  what 
means,  they  may  say.  He  wrought  His  cures,  whether 
by  the  power  of  God,  or  by  some  magical  art  of  His 
own,  or  whether,  as  some  of  the  Jews  said,  by  the 
power  of  the  Wicked  One,  it  cannot  be  laid  to  the 
charge  of  Jesus  that  He  grew  rich  by  His  profession, 
or  that  He  ever  received  a  fee  for  any  cure  or  other 
act  of  benevolence  performed  by  Him,  during  His 
earthly  career.  There  is  not  a  particle  of  e\  idence 
that  He  ever  did.  He  spent  His  life  in  doing  good. 
But  He  never  received  fee  or  reward.  He  apj^eared 
to  be  just  as  indifferent  to  the  pelf  of  this  world,  as 
He  exhorted  His  followers  to  be,  when  He  said  unto 
them  : 

"  Tak(i  no  thought  for  the  body,  what  ye  shall  eat 
and  drink,  nor  wherewithal  ye  shall  be  clothed  ;  for 
after  all  these  things  do  the  Genti'es  seek;  for  your 
Heavenly  Father  knoweth  that  )e  have  need  of  these 
things." 

1  don't  know  whether  it  would  be  even  possible  for 
all  the  followers  of  Jesus,  perf(^ctly  to  imitate  His  ex- 
ample, in  this  indifference  to  their  worldly  estate.  He 
never  had  a  home  of  His  own  after  He  left  the  home 


THE    HUMAN    CHARACTER    OF   JESUS.  10/ 

of  His  childhood.  When  a  certain  individual  had, 
probably,  seen  some  of  His  miracles,  and  had  wit- 
nessed the  facility  with  which  He  could  feed  thousands 
of  people  in  the  desert,  and  believed,  of  course,  that 
He  could  reward  and  enrich  all  His  followers  ;  he 
came  to  Him,  and  said:  "  Master,  I  will  follow  Thee 
whithersoever  Thou  goest."  Doubtless  Jesus  under- 
stood his  motive,  and  immediately  He  replied  to  him  : 
"The  foxes  have  holes  and  the  birds  of  the  air  have 
nests  ;  but  the  Son  of  Man  hath  not  where  to  lay  His 
head."  We  read  nothino-  more  concernincr  that  man's 
purpose  or  disposition  to  follow  Jesus. 

There  have  been  a  few  who  have  followed  Jesus 
Hterally,  in  respect  to  the  poverty  of  His  life,  and  His 
indifierence  to  temporal  riches  and  pleasures,  but  not 
very  many  since  the  days  of  fiery  trial  and  persecu- 
tion. But  it  may  be  said  of  Paul  and  the  other 
apostles,  and  many  of  the  early  martyrs,  that  they 
forsook  all,  and  followed  Jesus  in  His  life  of  poverty 
and  suffering.  But  they  had  a  motive  to  sustain  them, 
which  Jesus  could  not  have  had,  on  the  supposition 
that  He  was  only  a  natural  man.  They  believed  Jesus 
to  be  the  Son  of  God,  They  believed  that  He  had 
risen  from  the  dead  ;  and  they  had  an  eye  to  the 
recompense  of  reward  beyond  this  life.  But  if  Jesus 
had  been  only  a  man,  and  if  He  knew  that  He  had 
not  come  out  from  God,  neither  went  to  God  again. 
He  had  no  such  hope  nor  faith  to  sustain  Him  in  His 
life  of  voluntary  suffering,  toil,  and  poverty.  And  we 
cannot,  on  philosophic  principles  of  reasoning,  account 
for  the  manner  of  life  which  He  led,  except  on  the 
theory  that  He  w^as  what  He  claimed  to  be — the  true 
God  as  well  as  a  true  man. 


I08  MOSES    AND    THF,    PHILOSOPHERS. 

3.  Another  trait  in  the  life  of  Jesus  beyond  other 
men,  was  His  humiht)'.  This  was  truly  remari^able, 
when  we  think  of  the  manner  in  whicli  He  was  fol- 
lowed, and  admired  by  the  populace.  No  man  ever 
lived  who  had  greater  temptations  to  be  vain  and 
j)roiid.  He  was  constantly  thronged  with  the  multi- 
tudes who  wanted  to  hear  Him — to  witness  a  miracle 
— to  see  Him,  or  to  receive  some  benefit  in  the  way 
of  healing.  And  they  would  say,  "  never  man  spake 
as  this  man  " — "never  before  was  anything  so  done 
in  Israel" — "truly  this  is  the  Son  of  David."  And 
yet  the  open  admiration  and  plaudits  of  the  people, 
did  not  seem  to  affect  Jesus,  or  lift  Him  up  with  pride. 
He  was,  in  Himself,  a  perfect  illustration  of  His  own 
lesson,  on  the  subject  of  humility: 

"Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit" — "He  that  hum- 
bleth  himself,  shall  be  exalted" — "Except  ye  become 
as  a  little  child,  ye  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
God." 

This  was  the  doctrine  He  taught,  and  His  life  was 
the  best  commentary  on  His  doctrine.  While  He 
mingled  with  His  disciples,  and  with  the  people.  He 
seemed  to  be  as  onc!  of  them — He  lived  and  fared  like 
them  in  all  respects.  He  put  on  no  airs  of  supe- 
riority, or  style — He  was  always  as  a  companion,  or  a 
brother,  even  in  the  company  of  the  most  loul)-.  We 
look  on  this  as  certainly  one  of  tlu?  most  beaulilul 
traits  in  the  human  character  of  Jesus  ! 

T'Aen  the  disciples  of  our  Lord  did  not  know  how, 
fully,  to  appreciate  His  character  in  this  respect.  On 
more  than  one  occasion,  they  seemed  to  think  that  the 
common   people   made   themselves   too   familiar  with 


THE    HUMAN    CHARACTER    OF   JESUS,  lOQ- 

their  Master,  in  coming  so  near  to  Him,  and  making 
so  free  ;  and  sometimes  they  attempted  to  keep  them 
back.  One  of  these  occasions  was,  when  a  few  godly 
parents  brought  their  httle  ones,  in  order  to  receive 
His  benediction  ;  which,  when  the  disciples  saw,  they 
rebuked  those  who  brought  them.  When  Jesus  per- 
ceived this,  He  called  them  unto  Him,  and  said : 

"Suffer  the  little  children  to  come  unto  me,  and  for- 
bid them  not,  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  God. 
Verily  I  say  unto  you,  whosoever  shall  not  receive  the 
kingdom  of  God  as  a  little  child,  he  shall  not  enter 
therein.  And  He  took  them  up  in  His  arms,  put  His 
hands  upon  them,  and  blessed  them." 

What  a  charmincr  incident  w^as  this!  the  greatest 
among  men,  followed  by  admiring  thousands,  pausing 
in  the  midst  of  a  public  discourse,  to  take  litde  chil- 
dren In  His  arms,  and  to  bless  them,  because  re- 
quested to  do  so  by  their  parents  !  This  was,  indeed, 
like  Jesus.  But  who  would  have  expected  to  witness 
an  act  of  kindness  like  this  on  the  part  of  any  other 
great  and  distinguished  personage?  How  the  inci- 
dent here  related  must  have  affected  the  hearts  of  the 
parents  at  the  time  !  And  more :  who  can  imagine 
the  effect  on  the  hearts  of  the  little  ones  themselves, 
in  after  years?  Happy  are  all  those  parents,  who 
succeed  in  obtaining  the  blessing  of  the  same  Jesus  on 
themselves,  and  their  children. 

4.  Let  us  now  notice  a  virtue,  very  rare  among 
men,  because  so  difficult  to  practise,  that  pre-emi- 
nently adorned  the  life  of  Christ — I  refer  to  His  meek- 
ness. It  is  said  of  Moses  that  he  "  was  the  meekest 
man  on  earth."     Meekness  is  the  virtue  or  orace  that 

o 


no  MOSKS    AND    THE    niir.OSOPHERS. 

enables  one  to  be  patient  and  forbearlngr,  under  111 
treatment — to  be  patient  and  submissive,  whatever 
losses  or  crosses  may  happen.  Christ  teaches — and 
no  other  natural  man  ever  so  tauofht — that  "when 
thine  enemy  shall  smite  thee  on  one  cheek,  turn  to  him 
the  other  also  " — the  plain  meaninij;-  of  which  is — let 
him  smite  you  on  both  cheeks  rather  than  strike  back, 
or  retaliate  the  wrong.  This  Is  a  hard  saying,  some 
people  think;  who  can  bear  It?  But  still,  whether 
they  can  bear  it  or  not — whether  they  can  practise  It 
or  not,  it  is  a  part  of  the  moral  code  taught  by  Jesus. 
None  of  His  followers  must  avenge  themselves,  or 
return  evil  for  evil. 

Jesus  was  meek.  He  never  was  known  to  retaliate 
a  wrong,  nor  resent  an  insult.  "Take  my  yoke  upon 
you,  and  learn  of  me,"  said  He.  "  for  I  am  meek  and 
lowly  in  heart,  and  ye  shall  find  rest  unto  your  souls." 
It  Is  said  of  Him,  that,  "when  He  was  reviled.  He  re- 
viled not  a<rain,  neither  returned  ralllner  for  railinnf." 
Aofain,  It  Is  written  concernlnfr  Him,  that  "  He  was  led 
as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter,  and  as  a  sheep  before  her 
shearers  Is  dumb,  so  He  opened  not  His  mouth." 

In  no  human  character  that  has  ever  been  portrayed, 
does  this  trait  shine  out  with  the  beauty  and  lustre, 
that  It  does  In  the  human  life  of  Jesus.  Call  a  man  a 
liar,  or  even  look  cross  at  him,  so  that  he  shall  feel 
that  he  Is  Insulted,  and  forthwith  he  challenges  the 
offender  to  mortal  combat,  or  adopts  some  other  mode 
of  revenge,  to  show  that  he  Is  a  gentleman,  and  no 
coward. 

The  wise  man  has  said,  "  he  that  ruleth  his  own 
spirit,  Is  greater   than  he   that  taketh  a  city."     Not 


THE    HUMAN    CHARACTER    OF   JESUS.  Ill 

many  great  and  wise  have  been  able  completely,  and 
at  all  times,  to  control  their  temper. 

This  may  be  an  infirmity — it  is  certainly  a  great 
weakness  in  the  characters  of  most  men.  But  there 
was  nothing  of  this  in  the  character  of  Jesus.  He 
was  never  seen  in  a  state  of  anger  or  passion.  He 
was  never  known  to  be  ruffled,  or  thrown  off  His 
balance  by  the  petty  annoyances  to  which,  in  common 
with  other  men,  He  must  have  been  subjected.  But 
He  always  maintained  the  same  serene  and  majestic 
aspect  of  countenance  and  manner,  so  that  though 
He  was  in  the  world,  yet  in  the  strictest  truth,  it  may 
be  said  that  He  was  not  of  the  world. 

If  Christ  had  been  only  a  common  man.  His  attack 
on  those  merchants  and  traders  who  had  made  the 
temple  a  place  of  merchandise,  would  have  been  peril- 
ous, and  rash  in  the  extrenie,  as  it  is  natural  for  men 
to  defend  their  croods,  and  even  fiMit  for  them,  when 
in  danger  of  being  seized  or  taken  from  them.  It 
was  such  a  miracle  as  that  performed,  when  Jesus 
walked  through  the  midst  of  the  mob  and  escaped, 
when  they  had  Him  in  their  hands,  and  were  march- 
ing to  cast  Him  down  from  the  precipice  ;  or  when 
they  came  to  take  Him  with  swords  and  staves,  and 
Judas  at  their  head,  when  they  were  simultaneously 
smitten  down  to  the  ground,  at  the  word  of  Jesus, 
saying,  "/  am  HeT  There  was  divine  power  put  forth. 
So  when  He  drove  them  out  of  the  temple,  they  just 
marched  before  Him  without  the  power  of  resistance, 
impelled  by  an  invisible  force. 

An  affecting  proof  of  the  meekness  of  Christ,  is 
afforded  in  nearly  the  last  scene  of  His  life,  when  He 


112  MOSES    AND    TllFi    FMILOSOPHERS. 

was  a  prisoner  in  tlic  Iiands  of  an  excited  mob,  wlio 
were  howling  for  His  blood.  It  was  then  and  there 
that  He  exhibited  Himself  as  a  Iamb,  unresistingly 
led  to  slaughter,  and  as  a  sheep  dumb  before  her 
shearers. 

Judas  the  traitor  headed  the  band  who  apprehended 
Jesus,  and  he  had  given  them  a  sign,  saying,  "Whom- 
soever I  shall  kiss,  that  same  is  He — take  Him  and 
hold  Him  fast."  When  lesus  saw  them  advancing 
upon  Him,  and  Judas  with  them,  He  said  meekly, 
"Judas,  betrayest  thou  the  Son  of  man  with  a  kiss?" 
This  Vvas  all  the  resistance  He  offered — He  did  not 
attempt  to  repel  him — He  even  allowed  him  to  ap- 
proach, and  to  implant  on  His  cheek  the  deceitful  kiss, 
only  saying,  as  if  to  remind  him  that  He  was  aware 
of  his  traitorous  design,  "  Judas,  betrayest  thou  the 
Son  of  man  with  a  kiss?"  Could  any  other  but 
Jesus  have  acted  thus,  in  the  circumstances? 

Another  and  similar  proof  of  His  meekness,  was 
that  exhibited  on  the  cross,  when,  after  they  had 
scourged  Him — and  had  blindfolded  Him — and  had 
mocked  Him,  and  spit  on  Him — and  had  crowned 
Him  with  a  crown  of  thorns — and  had,  at  last,  nailed 
Him  on  the  accursed  tree,  He  prayed  for  them  with 
His  expiring  breath,  "  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they 
know  not  what  they  do !  "  O  sceptic,  ponder  the 
words  of  this  touching  petition,  and  be  convinced  that 
Jesus  was,  indeed,  the  Son  of  God  I 

5.  It  would  take  a  whole  volume  instead  of  a  single 
chapter,  to  sketch  even  an  outline  of  the  human  char- 
acter of  Jesus,  which  it  is  not  my  purpose  to  do.  But 
I  must  refer  briefly  to  another   trait,  which   He  pos- 


THE    HUMAN    CHARACTER    OF   JESUS.  II3 

sessed  in  an  eminent  degree,  and  that  was  His  habit 
of  prayer — of  constant  and  close  communion  with 
God.  In  saying  this,  it  is  necessary  to  keep  in  mind 
what  has  been  before  fully  explained,  that  Jesus  com- 
bined in  Himself,  divinity  and  humanit}^ — that  He  was 
both  God  and  man  in  one  person.  As  God,  He  had 
no  need  of  prayer.  It  was  as  a  man  that  He  had 
need  of  prayer,  A  prayerless  man  is  always  a  God- 
less man.  There  is  no  way  to  walk  with  God,  but  to 
talk  ivith  Him,  and  to  commune  wath  Him  in  prayer. 
It  is  this  spirit  of  prayer,  that  begets,  and  maintains 
an  increasing  sense  of  dependence  on  God,  and  trust 
in  His  Providence.  Prayer  is,  indeed,  the  gauge  of 
piety ;  and  without  it,  there  could  be  no  piety  except 
in  name. 

Jesus  often  inculcated  the  duty  of  prayer — "watch 
and  pray,  lest  ye  enter  into  temptation  " — "  pray  with- 
out ceasing" — "enter  into  thy  closet,  and  when  thou 
hast  shut  thy  door,  pray  to  thy  Father  which  seeth  in 
secret  " — "  ask,  and  ye  shall  receive" — "For  I  say  unto 
you,  that  your  Heavenly  Father  is  more  ready  to  give 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  Him,  than  parents 
are  to  give  good  things  to  their  children."  Such  are  a 
few  of  the  forms  of  expression,  which  Jesus  employed 
to  set  forth  the  duty  and  necessity  of  prayer. 

Jesus  abounded  in  prayer,  as  we  know  from  the 
record  of  His  life.  It  is  said  that  He  sometimes  went 
apart  from  His  disciples,  by  Himself,  into  some  moun- 
tain or  desert  to  spend  whole  night-seasons  in  prayer. 
When  He  took  the  cup,  or  when  He  broke  bread  at 
repast  with  His  disciples,  He  ahvays  blessed  the  food 
or  gave  thanks. 


TI4  ^fOSEs  Axn  tuk  imiii.o.sopmers. 

In  the  most  tryin;:^  lioiir  of  His  life,  when  He  was  in 
the  rrarclen  of  Gethsemane,  sensible  that  the  hour  was 
at  hand,  for  which  He  had  come  into  the  world,  and 
when  He  was  now  about  to  drink  the  cup  of  suffer- 
ing to  its  dregs,  He  still  leaned  on  His  Father  to 
sustain  His  humanity;  and  in  tiuit  awful  hour,  we  find 
Him  falling  down  in  the  attitude  of  prayer,  no  less 
than  three  times ;  and  even  in  the  moment  of  the 
greatest  agony,  when  He  sweat,  as  it  were,  great 
drops  of  blood  falling  down  to  the  ground,  it  is  said 
that  "  He  prayed  the  more  earnestly." 

There  are  moments  when  bodily  pain  may  be  so 
intense,  that  the  best  of  saints  forget  to  pray — and 
forget  everything  but  the  pain.  But  Jesus  '' prayed 
tJie  more  earnestly !' 

It  is  impossible  for  a  man,  who  maintains  an  habit- 
ual and  close  walk  with  God,  to  be  a  bad  man — a  false 
man,  or  a  hypocrite.  For,  there  is  an  innate  convic- 
tion in  the  mind  of  every  one,  who  has  an  idea  of 
God  at  all,  that  He  must  be  holy,  and  that  the  only 
way  to  gain  His  favor,  is  to  lead  a  holy  life.  And  so, 
the  habit  of  prayer  must  have  the  effect  of  keeping 
every  one.  who  has  formed  this  habit,  in  the  way  of  a 
holy  obedience  ;  as  no  one,  who  secretly  communes 
with  God  every  day,  from  ofl'  His  holy  altar — and 
talks  with  God,  as  it  were,  face  to  face,  could  live  ha- 
bitually in  the  practice  of  any  known  sin  ;  as  other- 
wise, he  would  go  to  God  with  a  lie  on  his  lips  every 
time  he  prayed,  and  take  His  name  in  vain.  But  the 
wickedest  man  on  earth  would  hardly  dare  to  do  this. 
The  necessary  effect  of  prayer — of  the  habit  of  de- 
vout and  habitual  prayer,  must  be  to  purify  the  life. 


THE    HUMAN    CHAKACTER    OF    JESUS.  II5 

We  have  a  beautiful  example  of  this  in  the  life  of 
the  prophet  Daniel,  who  would  not  cease  to  pray  to 
his  God,  even  at  the  command  of  the  king  of  Babylon. 
It  was  his  habit  to  pray  three  times  a  day,  with  his 
window  open  and  looking  toward  Jerusalem,  the  holy 
city  now  in  ruins,  from  whence  he  had  been  carried 
into  captivity,  but  whither  he  believed  the  captives 
would  return  after  seventy  years.  He  was  thrown 
into  the  den  of  lions,  because  he  disobeyed  the  king 
in  continuing  to  make  supplications  to  his  God.  But 
God  took  care  of  His  prophet,  and  preserved  him 
from  the  power  of  the  lions.  And  because  of  his 
loyalty  to  his  God,  he  was  able  to  stand   before  kings. 

Physical  Manhood. 

Having  thus  briefly  sketched  the  human  character 
of  Jesus  in  its  moral  phases,  it  may  not  be  entirely 
out  of  place  here  to  say  a  word  as  to  His  physical 
manhood.  The  materials  for  this  undertaking  are  ex- 
tremely scanty.  If  any  portrait  of  His  features  was 
ever  painted,  we  have  now  no  knowledge  of  the  fact. 
And  it  is  certain  that  the  inspired  writers  made  no 
attempt  at  a  description  of  His  personal  appearance. 
It  may  be  they  felt  that  they  were  unequal  to  the  task. 
Or,  it  may  be  that  it  was  not  in  accordance  with  the 
Divine  will,  that  such  an  account  should  be  handed 
down  to  the  church  of  after  aofes. 

There  is,  however,  a  description  of  the  personal  ap- 
pearance of  our  Saviour,  that  has  come  down  to  us, 
written  by  one  who  was  contemporary  with  the  apos- 
tles, and  regarded  by  many  as  authentic  and  genuine. 
It  was  written  by  no  less  a  person   than  Publius  Len- 


Il6  MOSES   AND   THE   nilLOSOPHERS. 

tuliis,  wlio  was,  at  the  tinic,  the  President  of  Judca, 
and  was  addressed  by  him  to  the  Roman  Senate. 
Jesus  hved  in  Judea,  and  the  epistle  was  written  while 
He  yet  walked  this  earth,  and  there  is  no  valid  reason 
for  doubting  the  genuineness,  the  authenticity,  or  the 
truthfulness  of  the  writinof.     It  is  as  follows: 

"There  lives,  at  this  time,  in  Judea,  a  man  of  singu- 
lar virtue,  whose  name  is  Jesus  Christ,  whom  the  bar- 
barians esteem  a  prophet,  but  His  own  followers  adore 
Him  as  the  offspring  of  the  immortal  God.  He  calls 
back  the  dead  from  their  graves,  and  heals  all  sorts  of 
diseases  with  a  word  or  a  touch.  He  is  tall  and  well 
shaped,  of  an  amicable  and  reverend  aspect.  His  hair 
is  of  a  color  that  can  hardly  be  matched,  falling  into 
graceful  curls  below  His  ears,  and  very  agreeably 
touching  on  His  shoulders,  parted  on  the  crown  of  the 
h-ad,  like  the  Nazarity. 

"His  forehead  is  smooth  and  large;  His  cheeks 
without  other  spot,  save  that  of  a  lovely  red ;  His 
nose  and  mouth  formed  with  exquisite  symmetry; 
His  beard  thick,  and  of  a  color  suitable  to  the.  hair  of 
His  head,  reaching  an  inch  below  His  chin,  and  parting 
in  the  middle  like  a  fork  ;  His  eye  bright,  clear,  and 
serene.  He  rebukes  with  majesty;  counsels  with 
mildness  ;  His  whole  address,  whether  in  word  or  deed, 
being  elegant  and  grave.  No  man  has  seen  Him 
laugh  ;  but  He  has  wept  frequently.  He  is  very  tem- 
perate, modest,  and  wise;  a  man  for  His  excellent 
beauty,  and  Divine  perfection,  surpassing  the  children 
of  men," 

We  believe  this  account  to  be  authentic;  and  fur- 
ther, that  it  gives  a  true  description  of  the  person  of 
Jesus,  so  far  as  such  a  description  could  be  written. 
And  having  this  belief,  it  seems  to  us  as  if  there  were 


THE    HUMAN    CHARACTER    OF   JESUS.  \\J 

something  providential  in  the  fact  that  the  account 
was  written  by  such  a  man  as  Pubhus  Lentulus.  If  it 
had  been  penned  by  one  of  the  followers  of  Jesus,  as 
a  matter  of  course  it  would  have  been  put  down  by 
enemies  as  an  exaggerated  and  overdrawn  picture. 
But  as  Publius  Lentulus  was  not  a  personal  friend  nor 
a  Christian,  and  as  he  was  a  man  high  in  authority, 
and  addressed  his  letter  to  the  Roman  Senate,  the 
most  dignified  assembly  the  world  had  then  known, 
there  is  no  reason  to  think  that  the  letter  was  a  fabri- 
cation, or  that  it  contained  an  exa^eerated  and  over- 
wrought  description. 

Moreover,  by  whomsoever  the  letter  was  written, 
whether  by  Publius  Lentulus  or  some  other  person.  It 
is  evident  that  the  writer  wrote  from  personal  obser- 
vation ;  as  no  one  could  have  given  such  a  minute  de- 
scription of  the  personal  appearance  of  Jesus — and 
such  a  description  too — merely  upon  report,  and  with- 
out having  seen  him  with  his  own  eyes.  This  would  be 
about  as  difficult  as  for  an  artist  to  have  put  on  canvas 
the  very  expression  that  must  have  illumined  that 
divinely  human  face. 

Therefore,  all  things  considered,  we  may  regard  the 
letter  of  Publius  Lentulus,  the  Roman  eovernor,  as 
an  authentic  document.  The  description  Is  one  that 
harmonizes  well  with  the  ideas  naturally  suggested  as 
to  His  personal  appearance,  by  the  history  of  His  life, 
as  recorded  in  the  Gospels, 

Conclusion. — What  then  is  the  conclusion  to  be 
drawn  from  all  the  various  considerations  which  we 
have  dwelt  on  in  this  chapter?  The  only  conclusion 
we   can   come    to   :s.  that,  no   human  belno-  has  ever 


IlS  MOSES    AND   THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

appeared  on  tliis  earth  roDiparable  to  Jesus  Christ. 
Was  He  only  a  man,  or  was  He  more  than  a  man? 
This  is  the  question  that  it  personally  concerns  every 
human  beinsj;;  to  consichn-;  and  that,  first  or  last, 
every  one  will  be;  called  on  to  decide;  tor  himself. 

There  has  never  b':en  another  character  like  that 
of  Jesus.  It  stands  alone.  I  hazard  nothing  in  sa)ing-, 
that  it  would  require  a  greater  amount  of  credulity 
to  believe  that  Jesus  was  only  a  natural  man,  without 
anything  of  the  celestial  in  Mis  origin,  than  to  be- 
lieve any  of  the  miraculous  events  recorded  in  the 
Scriptures.  If  they  deny  the  divinity  of  Jesus,  how 
are  they  going  to  account  for  the  production  of  that 
character?  There  is  not  another  phenomenon  that 
has  ever  been  brought  to  our  attention,  or  on  which 
we  can  fix  our  thoughts,  that  is  half  so  wonderful  or 
strange.  It  does  not  at  all  surprise  us,  that  the  whole 
civilized  world,  Christians  and  infidels,  have  so  much 
to  say  and  write  about  it.  This  must  be  their  theme 
to  the  end  of  time. 

If  the  sceptical  part  of  the  world  could  get  rid  of 
this  character — if  they  could  just  blot  it  out,  what  a 
joy  it  would  be  to  them  to  do  so!  But  this  is  not 
possible.  And  the  question  is,  what  disposition  are 
they  going  to  make  of  Jesus  ?  "  Wliat  shall  I  do  with 
Jesus?"  was  the  question  which  Pilate  asked — and 
every, responsible  human  being  has  L;ot  to  ask  him- 
self the  same  question,  "What  sluill  1  do  with  Jcsiis?" 
There  He  is — "  Behold  the  man  !  " 

The  record  of  His  life  has  been  givcm  to  the  world. 
Millions  on  millions  of  copies  of  that  record  are 
being  printc^d   in   all  languages,  and  the  effect  of  the 


THE    HUMAN    CHARACTER    OF   JESUS.  II9 

circulation  thereof  cannot  be  doubtful.  That  record 
carries  with  it  internal  evidence  of  its  own  divine 
Original.  It  is  impossible  for  any  well-balanced  and 
unprejudiced  mind,  to  obtain  anything-  like  a  clear 
and  distinct  understanding  of  the  character  of  Jesus, 
and  of  the  nature  of  His  teachincrs,  and  not  be  forced 
to  the  conclusion  that  He  was  human,  and  also  super- 
human ! 


CHAPTER   V. 

Death  and  Resurrection  of  Jesus. 

Jesus  an  Impostor,  if  He  did  not  rise — What  miionalists  believe — A  perilous 
attitude — Jesus  foretold  His  resurrection — Asa  natural  man  He  could  not  have 
foreknown  it — The  Disciples  did  not  undersland — Jews  and  Romans  conspired 
His  death — A  world's  tribunal — A  Sentence  without  any  parallel — Pul)licity 
of  the  Crucifixion — Could  not  die  a  natural  death — Projihecy  of  D.ivid — f'ifty- 
third  chapter  of  Isaiah — The  prediction  in  Zee  hariah — A  piudential  reason — 
A  fraud  impossible — Precautions  used  to  jireveiil — The  Sepulchre  made  sure — 
The  Special  Provitlence  manifest — An  empty  tomb — The  Sentinels  bribed — 
Their  contradictory  report — Defection  of  the  few  disciples — No  hope  from  a 
dead  body  —  Only  a  living  Saviour  could  avail — Jesus  seen  alive — By  the 
three  women — Hy  the  Eleven  apostles — Uid)elief  of  Thomas — How  he  was 
convinced — Testimony  of  Paul — Preachintj  ot  Peter — Advice  of  Gamaliel — 
Character  of  the  witnesses — Nothing  to  gain  by  falsehood — Lite  and  labors  of 
Paul. 

IF  Jesus  did  not  rise  from  the  dead,  Christianity, 
the  system  of  religion  founded  by  Him,  is  not 
true,  but  is  a  system  of  imposture  from  beginning-  to 
end.  If  He  did  not  rise  from  the  dead,  He  was  Him- 
self an  impostor,  and  the  twelve  apostles  were  im- 
postors. They  were  not  themselves  deceived,  but 
they  were  wilful  and  base  impostors,  on  any  other 
supposition  than  that  Jesus  arose  from  the  dead.  He 
frequently  spoke  of  it  before  the  crucifixion,  and  said 
that  He  would  rise  again.  And  the  apostles  after 
His  crucifixion  affirmed  that  He  had  risen  from  the 
(120) 


DEATH    AND    RESURRECTION    OF   JESUS.  121 

dead,  and  that  they  had  seen  Him  ahve.  And  if  they 
knew  that  they  had  not  seen  Him  ahve  after  He  had 
been  put  to  death,  they  hed,  and  they  were  wilful 
and  wicked  deceivers.  And  Jesus  was  an  impostor. 
And  the  whole  system  of  Christianity  now  existing  in 
the  world  must  be  a  system  of  fraud,  palmed  off  on 
the  world  by  a  set  of  impostors. 

This  is  what  every  man  must  affirm  and  believe, 
who  denies  that  Jesus  arose  from  the  dead  !  It  is  a 
very  bold  as  well  as  a  perilous  attitude  to  assume. 

In  this  cliapter,  I  want  to  put  the  evidence  which 
proves  the  Resurrection  in  as  clear  a  light  as  possible. 
It  amounts  to  a  demonstration.  And  there  is  no 
ground  or  excuse  for  unbelief. 

Jesus  often  foretold  the  manner  of  His  death  and 
resurrection.  The  last  time  that  He  went  up  to  Jeru- 
salem, He  conversed  freely  on  the  way  with  His  fol- 
lowers, of  the  death  and  sufferings  He  was  to  endure 
at  the  hands  of  the  chief  priests  and  rulers  of  the  Jews, 
saying: 

"  Behold,  we  go  up  to  Jerusalem,  and  the  Son  of 
man  shall  be  betrayed  unto  the  chief  priests,  and  unto 
the  Scribes,  and  they  shall  condemn  Him  to  death, 
and  shall  deliver  Him  to  the  Gentiles  (Romans)  to 
mock,  and  to  scourge,  and  to  crucify  Him  ;  and  the 
third  day  He  shall  rise  again." 

He  had  a  perfect  foreknowledge  of  the  sufferings 
that  awaited  Him.  And  when  He  spoke  of  them,  the 
disciples  were  "  sorrowful."  It  is  certain  they  did 
not  believe  a  word  about  the  resurrection  ;  but  the 
thought  that  they  were  soon  to  lose  their  Master, 
filled  them  with  profound  grief.     If  Jesus  had  been 


122  MOSES   AND    THE    I'lllLOSOPlIIiRS. 

only  a  natural  man,  lie  could  not  have  known  what 
was  to  happen  to  Him  at  Jerusalem.  He  was  then 
in  the  viL;()r  of  His  manhood,  and  more  popular  at  that 
moment  than  He  ever  had  been  ;  for  His  popularity 
had  been  steadily  advancin;^^  from  the  beginnini^^  ot 
His  ministry,  as  He  became  more  and  more  known. 

Now  supposing;-  that,  as  a  natural  man,  Jesus  might 
have  foreseen  what  awaited  Him  on  His  final  entrance 
into  the  holy  city,  it  is  very  certain  that,  as  a  natural 
man  He  miglit,  and  would  have  avoided  the  terrible 
fate  b)-  not  going  there.  The  most  ordinary  prudence 
would  have  dictated  to  Him  the  propriety  of  shunning 
the  danger,  by  keeping  away  from  it.  David  was  a 
prudent  man,  and  when  Saul  sought  to  take  his  life, 
he  wisely  avoided  the  death  threatened,  by  hiding  in 
the  rocky  caves  of  Engedi.  But  Jesus,  instead  of  con- 
cealing Himself,  went  up  to  Jerusalem,  where  He 
knew  that  death  awaited  Him. 

It  was  on  this  occasion  that,  as  He  approached  the 
doomed  city,  descending  from  the  Mount  of  Olives 
over  against  the  city,  whence  He  had  a  view  ot  its 
mighty  walls,  its  glorious  temple,  and  its  magnificent 
palaces,  He  wept  over  the  city,  and  uttered  those 
memorable  words,  which  were  afterwards  so  terribly 
fulfilled  to  the  letter: 

"  If  th(ni  h.'idst  known,  even  thou,  at  least  in  this 
thy  day,  the  things  which  belong  unto  thy  peace  !  but 
now  they  are  hid  from  thine  eyes.  For  the  days  shall 
come  upon  the-e.  that  thine  enemies  shall  casta  trench 
about  thee,  and  comi)nss  thcr.  round,  and  keep  thee  in 
on  every  side,  and  shall  lay  diee  evc;n  with  the  ground, 
and  thy  children  with  thee;   and  diry  shall  not  leave 


DEATH    AND    RESURRECTION    OF    JESUS.  I23 

in  tliee  one  stone  upon  another,  because  thou  knewest 
not  the  time  of  thy  visitation." 

O  House  of  Judali,  look  at  the  prediction  contained 
in  these  mournful  words,  and  then,  look  at  the  accom- 
plishment, and  say  whether  Jesus  was  not  a  true  pro- 
phet, and  the  Messiah  rejected  by  thee,  because  "thou 
knewest  not  the  day  of  thy  visitation!" 

When  we  look  at  the  character  of  Jesus,  as  por- 
trayed in  the  long  series  of  prophetic  utterances,  that 
prepared  the  way  for  His  advent  into  the  world,  w^e 
can  understand  how  it  was,  He  could  foreknow  so 
accurately  the  time,  the  place,  and  the  circumstances 
of  His  own  death  ;  and  why  He  was  willing  to  go 
up  to  Jerusalem,  though  He  knew  what  was  to  befall 
Him  there.  This  is  one  of  the  lacts  connected  with 
the  death  of  Jesus,  viewed  simply  as  a  man,  which 
makes  it  unique,  and  different  from  any  other  death 
known  in  the  history  of  men. 

There  is  another  singular  fact  connected  with  the 
death  of  Jesus,  wherein  it  differs  from  all  otliers.  He 
died  tor  the  world — to  make  an  atonement  for  the  sins 
of  mankind.  But  the  sinirular  fact  is,  that  the  world 
was  actively  concerned  in  procuring  His  death.  He 
was  delivered  of  the  Jews  to  the  Romans,  and  the 
Romans,  or  the  Gentile  world,  gave  the  sentence  of 
death  against  Him.  Hence,  Jesus  foretelling  His 
death,  said : 

"  Behold,  we  go  up  to  Jerusalem,  and  all  things  that 
are  written  by  the  prophets,  concerning  the  Son  of 
man,  shall  be  accomplislied  ;  for  He  shall  be  delisered 
unto  the  Gentiles,  and  shall  be  mocked,  and  spitefully 
entreated,   and   spitted   on ;    and    they   shall    scourge 


124  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

Him,  and  put  Him  to  death,  and  the  third  day  He 
shall  rise  again.  And  they  (the  disciples)  understood 
none  of  these  things  ;  and  this  saying  was  hid  from 
them,  neither  knew  they  the  things  which  were 
spoken." 

But  after  the  resurrection  of  their  Lord,  when 
they  began  to  understand  these  things,  we  find  them 
saying : 

"For,  of  a  truth,  against  thy  holy  child  Jesus,  whom 
thou  hast  anointed,  both  Herod  and  Pontius  Pilate 
with  the  Gentiles  and  the  people  of  Israel  were 
gathered  together." 

This  conspiracy  of  Jews  and  Gentiles  to- compass 
the  death  of  the  Lord's  anointed,  was  foretold  by 
David,  saying:  "Why  did  the  heathen  rage,  and  the 
people  imagine  vain  things  ?  The  kings  ot  the  earth 
stood  up,  and  th(!  rulers  were  gathered  together 
against  the  Lonl,  and  against  His  Christ." 

We  have  said,  this  was  a  singular  fact  connected 
with  the  death  of  Jesus.  It  was  as  if  a  grand  council 
had  been  held  by  the  nations,  to  confer  together 
touching  the  death  of  that  extraordinary  personage. 
As  He  was  to  die  lor  the  world's  redemption,  it  was 
fitting  that  a  world's  tribunal  should  have  part  in  the 
proceedings,  which  culminated  in  the  judicial  sentence 
pronounced  against  Him.  In  this  respect  His  death 
stands  alone,  perhaps,  in  the  history  of  civil  jurispru- 
dence. But  it  stands  out,  sublime  and  grand,  in  the 
eyes  of  all  people. 

Another  remarkable  circumstance  connected  with 
the  death  of  Jesus,  is  the  fact  that  when  He  was  con- 
demned to  death  He  was  pronounced  innocent  by  the 


DEATH    AND   RESURRECTION   OF   JESUS.  125 

judge.  Innocent  persons,  perhaps,  in  every  age  and 
country  have  been  condemned  to  suffer  the  penalty  of 
death.  But  who  ever  heard  or  read  of  one  senten-ced 
to  be  pubhckly  executed,  the  judge  at  the  same  time 
declaring  the  innocence  of  the  accused?  This  is  a 
case  probably  without  any  parallel.  The  Jewish  people 
accused  Him  vehemently,  but  they  could  establish  no 
charge  against  Him.  And  when  Pilate  would  gladly 
have  released  Him,  they  raised  a  great  clamor  de- 
manding His  death,  so  that,  at  last,  against  his  own 
convictions  of  duty  and  right,  he  yielded  to  the  im- 
portunities of  the  excited  populace,  and  gave  consent 
to  crucily  Jesus.     This  is  the  record  : 

''But  they  cried  saying,  crucify  Him,  crucify  Him  ! 
And  he  said  imto  them  the  third  time,  why,  what  evil 
hath  He  done  ?  I  have  found  no  cause  of  death  in  Him; 
I  will,  therefore,  chastise  Him,  and  let  Him  go.  And 
they  were  instant  luitJi  loud  voices  requiring  that  He 
might  be  crucified ;  and  the  voices  of  them  and  of  the 
chief  priests  prevailed.  And  Pilate  gave  sentence  that 
it  should  be  as  they  7'equiredi' 

Three  times  he  had  proclaimed  from  the  tribunal  of 
judgment,  that  he  found  no  cause  of  death  in  Him. 
He  had  sent  Him  to  Herod's  tribunal,  and  Herod  had 
found  no  fault  as  to  the  things  of  which  they  accused 
Him,  and  had  sent  Him  back,  and  yet  Pilate  gave  sen- 
tence that  it  should  be  as  they  required.  And  it  is 
added  that  "  he  took  water,  and  washed  his  hands 
before  the  multitude,  saying:  I  am  innocent  of  the 
blood  of  this  just  person  ;  see  ye  to  It." 

I  don't  know  that  there  Is  a  similar  judicial  sentence 
on  record.     Gentiles  and  Jews  conspired  the  death  of 


126  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

Christ.  According  to  the  Divine  purpose,  as  revealed 
in  prophecy,  this  had  to  transpire;  but  the  mystery  is, 
that  tliose  who  conspired  and  effected  His  death, 
should,  at  the  same  time,  confess  that  He  was  inno- 
cent— tl.at  there:  was  "no  cause  of  death  in  Him." 

The  rt  r.i.KTiv  of  the:  crucifixion  of  Jesus,  is  another 
of  those  providential  circumstances,  calculated  to  show 
to  the  world  that  there  could  be  no  mistake  about  it. 
He  did  not  die  a  natural  death.  He  did  not  die  in  a 
private  chamber,  amon^-  a  few  of  His  own  jjersonal 
followers.  He  was  not  put  to  death  in  a  secret 
manner,  as  criminals  are  sometimes  executed.  For 
then,  it  might  have  been  said,  by  enemies,  that  there 
is  nothing  certainly  known  about  the  manner  of  His 
death,  and  thiat  He  probably  died  a  natural  death, 
paying  the  debt  of  nature  as  all  others  have  to  do. 
But  the  enemies  of  the  cross  cannot  say  this.  The 
Providence  of  God  has  deprived  them  of  every 
pretext  of  this  kind. 

There  never  was  a  more  public  death  since  time 
began.  Jerusalem  was  full  of  people.  For  it  was  the 
time  of  the  Passover,  when  many  thousands  were  as- 
sembled there,  from  the  surrounding  cities  and  vil- 
lages. The  fame  of  Jesus  had  extended  throughout 
Palestine,  and  into  other  countries.  He  had  been  ar- 
rested by  the  order  of  the  Chief  Priests  and  of  the 
grand  Council  of  the  Nation — the  Sanhedrim,  which 
was  the  highest  governing  power  in  Israel.  Not  only 
so,  but  He  was  before  the  tribunals  of  two  Roman 
governors,  sent  from  one  to  the  other,  and  then  by 
him  sent  back  again,  guarded  strictly  by  a  band  of 
Roman  soldiers,  and  accompanied  both  ways  through 


DEATH    AND    RESURRECTION    OF  JESUS,  12/ 

the  populous  city  by  a  crowd  of  the  Chief  Priests  and 
Scribes,  and  common  people. 

This  trial  of  Jesus  was  the  great  event  at  that  cele- 
bration of  the  Passover.  As  He  was  the  Paschal 
Lamb  of  God,  it  seemed  meet  and  proper,  tliat  the 
sacrifice  of  the  Lamb  should  take  place  during  the 
solemn  festival  of  the  Passover,  the  time  ordained  for 
the  slaying  of  the  Lamb.  And  as  He  was  to  be  a 
victim — a  sacrifice,  it  was  not  consistent  that  He  should 
die  a  natural  death.  The  Lamb  had  to  be  slain. 
Moreover,  it  seemed  consistent  with  the  Divine  will 
that  as  He  was  to  be  an  offerino;-  for  the  sins  of  the 
world,  the  world  should  be  a  witness  of  the  sacrifice. 

The  Jews  were  anxious  and  prepared  for  a  spec- 
tacle like  this.  For,  after  the  apprehension  of  Jesus, 
the  high  priest  being  a  prophet,  as  it  was  said,  prophe- 
sied that  it  was  expedient  that  one  man  should  die  for 
the  people,  and  that  the  whole  nation  perish  not. 
But  how  could  His  death  have  availed  for  the  nation, 
if  He  had  died  a  natural  death,  or  if  He  had  perished 
in  some  secret  way,  without  the  knowledge  of  the 
nation  ?  One  chief  purpose  of  the  Jews  by  His  pub- 
lic execution,  was  to  placate  the  Roman  Power,  who 
were  becoming  apprehensive  of  the  growing  popu- 
larity of  Jesus.  They  wanted  to  allay  those  appre- 
hensions. Nothing  but  the  death  of  Christ  would 
have  this  effect.  The  will  of  the  Jewish  people,  there- 
fore, concurred  with  the  Will  of  Providence,  in  the 
necessity  of  making  the  death  of  Jesus  a  public  spec- 
tacle. It  is  not  probable  that  a  more  public  execution 
was  ever  witnessed.  Jerusalem  was  full  of  people. 
There   must  have   been   more   than  a  million  in  the 


128  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

city  at  tlie  time ;  and  as  tiie  crucifixion  was  the  great 
event  of  the  time,  doubtless  every  one  who  could  ob- 
tain a  glimpse  of  the  Cross,  beheld  it.  They  beheld  it, 
though  the  natural  sun  in  the  heavens  seemed  un- 
willing to  look  on  the  scene.  Blushing;  he  hid  his 
face  while  the  solemn  scene  was  being-  enacted,  and 
darkness  for  a  while  covered  the  earth. 

The  Resurrection. 
We  have  already  seen  that  Jesus  had  predicted  His 
resurrection  from  the  dead.  A  careful  and  attentive 
reader  of  the  Old  Testament  must  be  convinced,  that, 
the  prophetic  writings  abound  with  such  predictions. 
One  of  these  is  referred  to  by  the  apostle  Peter,  in 
the  first  Gospel  Sermon,  preached  on  the  Day  of 
Pentecost,  saying: 

"  Men  and  brethren,  let  me  freely  speak  unto  you 
of  the  patriarch  David,  that  he  is  both  dead  and  buried, 
and  his  sepulchre  is  with  us  unto  this  day.  Therefore, 
being  a  prophet,  and  knowing  that  God  had  sv.orn 
with  an  oath  to  him,  that  of  the  fruit  of  his  loins,  ac- 
cording to  the  fiesh.  He  would  raise  up  Christ  to  sit 
on  His  throne,  he,  seeing  this  before,  spake  of  the 
resurrection  of  Christ,  that  His  soul  was  not  left.in  hell, 
neither  did  His  flesh  see  corruption." 

If  the  fifty-third  of  Isaiah  is  a  prophetic  description 
of  the  Mediatorial  character  of  Jesus,  as  it  has  always 
been  regarded  by  all  evangelical  believers,  it  con- 
tains very  clear  and  striking  predictions  of  His 
resurrection. 

This  whole  chapter  is  a  wonderful  production,  which 
could  only  have  been  written  under  the  immediate 
inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit.     No  natural  man  could 


DEATH    AND    RESURRECTION    OF   JESUS.  1 29 

have  conceived  the  thoughts.  In  this  chapter  the 
prophet  predicts  the  triumphs  of  Jesus  as  well  as 
His  sufferinors.  He  is  to  "  see  the  travail  of  His  soul, 
and  be  satisfied  " — "  He  is  to  divide  the  spoil  with 
the  strong" — why?  because  "He  poured  out  His 
soul  unto  death" — because  "He  bare  the  sin  of 
manv "  —  because  "He  made  His  orave  with  the 
wicked,  and  with  the  rich  in  His  death " — in  short, 
because  by  His  own  death  He  hath  conquered  death 
and  hell.  But  now,  if  He  did  not  rise  again,  how 
could  He  see  the  travail  of  His  soul  ?  If  He  did  not 
resume  that  life  which  He  laid  down,  how  could  He 
divide  the  spoil  with  the  strong,  or  enjoy  the  victory 
won  by  His  death? 

It  is  a  most  marvellous  thing  that  the  Jewish  people, 
who  believe  so  implicitly  in  the  writings  of  Isaiah,  do 
not  believe  nor  understand  this  fifty-third  chapter, 
which,  while  it  reveals  the  sufferings  of  the  Messiah, 
with  equal  clearness  shows  His  glory  consequent  on 
His  triumph  over  the  grave. 

Even  Daniel,  who  may  be  called — if  any  one  is  en- 
titled to  the  designation — the  prince  of  the  prophets,  in 
fixing  the  precise  date  at  which  the  Messiah  was  to 
make  His  appearance,  also,  at  the  same  time  an- 
nounces that  He  was  to  "  be  cut  off,  but  not  for  Him- 
self" 

There  is  a  striking  passage  of  the  same  nature  in 
Zachariah : 

"And   I  will  pour   upon   the   house   of  David,  and 

upon  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  the  spirit  of  grace 

and  of  supplications ;  and   they   shall   look   upon   me 

whom  they  have  pierced,  and  they  shall  mourn  for  him, 

9 


IjO  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

as  one  mourneth  for  his  only  son,  and  shall  be  in  bit- 
terness for  him  as  one  that  is  in  bitterness  lor  his 
first-born," 

This  is  a  prophecy  which  has  been  fulfilled,  as  yet, 
only  in  part — th{n'are  to  look  on  some  one  whom  they 
have  pierced — and  who  can  that  be?  Their  own  his- 
tory tells.  But  it  is  clear  that  He  whom  they  pierced, 
lives  again ;  because  it  is  He  who  speaks  by  the 
prophet,  "they  shall  look  on  me  whom  tJicy  have 
piej'ccdy 

They  shall  look — yea,  they  shall  look  on  Him  whom 
they  have  pierced.  The  piercing-  is  the  portion  of  the 
prophecy  that  was  accomplished  on  Calvary,  over 
eighteen  hundred  years  ago — the  looking  on  Him 
and  mourning,  is  the  part  yet  to  be  fulfilled.  And 
the  hour  of  its  fulfilm.cnt  is  hastening  on.  ■Myriads 
on  myriads  of  souls  have  looked  on  Him  who  was 
pierced  for  them,  and  through  that  looking,  have 
learned  to  sing  the  song  of  salvation.  But  the  prom- 
ise is,  that  the  once  chosen  people — the  nation  who 
pierced  Him,  are  to  be  brought  in  with  the  fullness  of 
the  Gentiles,  after  their  long  blindness,  and  to  learn 
the  same  song  of  salvation. 

As  the  Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Scrip- 
tural fact,  which  lies  at  the  basis  of  Christianity,  it  is 
my  aim  to  place  the  evidence  of  that  fact  in  such  a 
light,  that  no  intelligent  and  philosophic  mind  will  be 
able  to  entertain  a  reasonable  doubt  on  the  subject. 

Of  course,  it  is  not  to  be  presumed  that  any  thing 
new,  in  the  way  of  proof,  can  be  adduced  on  a  subject 
that  has  been  the  great  theme  of  discussion  and  con- 
versation, for  so  many  hundred  years.     But  this  con- 


DEATH    AND    RESURRECTION    OF   JESUS.  I3I 

stitutes  such  an  important  and  essential  stone  in  the 
temple  of  the  universe,  that  if  it  were  left  out,  the  temple 
could  not  be  constructed.  As  this  is  the  appropriate 
place  to  bring  in  this  portion  of  the  material,  I  will 
endeavor  to  oive  the  arcrument  founded  on  the  Resur- 
rection,  in  as  clear  a  light  as  I  can, 

I.  And  first,  the  character  of  Jesus  affords  presump- 
tive evidence  at  least,  that  He  rose  from  the  dead. 

If  Jesus  was  honest,  candid,  and  truthful,  He  cer- 
tainly believed,  Himself,  that  He  would  rise.  And  if 
He  had  no  foundation,  no  reason  in  the  world  for  this 
belief,  He  must  be  pronounced  one  of  the  greatest 
fanatics  the  world  ever  saw.  For  no  example  like  it 
can  be  adduced,  of  a  reformer  coming  into  the  world, 
and  staking  his  character,  his  fame,  his  cause  on  the 
fact  of  a  literal  resurrection  from  the  dead,  on  the 
third  day  after  being  put  to  death.  None  but  a  lunatic 
or  an  idiot  would  do  so.  For  no  one  before  Jesus  had 
ever  risen  from  the  dead.  And  no  one  who  should 
have  made  such  an  announcement,  could  have  been 
believed.  If  Jesus  had  been  only  a  common  man, 
possessing  the  ordinary  prudence  of  common  men, 
He  must  have  known  that  nobody  would  believe 
such  a  statement. 

No  other  great  leader  of  popular  opinion — neither 
Mahomet,  nor  any  other  who  has  risen  up  in  the 
world — was  ever  known  to  stake  his  cause  on  such  a 
foolish  hazard.  In  point  of  prudence,  foresight,  and 
sagacity,  Jesus  was,  in  no  sense,  behind  any  other 
whose  name  Is  known  In  history.  And  the  very 
fact  that  He  so  frequently  foretold  His  own  resurrec- 
tion, is  proof  that  He  himself  believed  that  He  would 


132  MOSES    AND    Tlfl':    PHILOSOPHERS. 

rise.  ;\nc1  if  He  believed  it,  His  wliole  character,  as 
before  stated,  affords  evidence  that  He  must  have  had 
a  i^ood  and  sufficient  reason  for  beheving  it.  But 
there  could  have  been  no  reason,  unless  He  were  the 
Son  of  God. 

The  enemies  of  Cliristianity,  denying"  the  divinity  of 
Jesus,  are  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  believing,  either 
that  He  was  a  crazed  fanatic,  or  that  He  was  a  base 
and  silly  impostor. 

II.  It  could  not  have  been  the  deliberate  purpose 
of  Jesus,  to  palm  off  on  the  whole  world,  the  monstrous 
fraud  that  He  had  risen  from  the  dead.  For  .there  is 
no  act  or  word  of  His  life  that  lends  any  countenance 
to  this  supposition.  If  He  were  only  a  natural  man. 
He  very  well  knew  that  He  could  not,  and  that  He 
would  not  rise  bodily  from  the  grave.  But  He  had 
said,  and  the  world  knew  that  He  had  said,  He  would 
rise  on  the  third  day.  What  did  He  mean  by  this 
public  announcement  of  the  fact?  If  He  meant  the 
perpetration  of  a  huge  fraud — if  He  meant  tliat  His 
personal  and  private  friends  should  make  away  with 
His  dead  body,  in  some  secret  manner,  and  then  palm 
off  on  the  world  the  deception  that  He  had  risen  from 
the  dead — If  He  meant  tills.  He  took  the  most  certain 
method  which  He  could  have  adopted,  to  prevent  the 
success  of  His  fraud. 

As  a  cautious  and  prudent  person,  He  would  have 
kept  the  whole  matter  a  secret,  and  would  not  have 
made  known  His  plan,  except  to  the  few  confidential 
friends  who  were  to  be  the  instruments  in  carrying 
out  the  fraud.  By  publishing  the  thing  to  the  whole 
world,  He  put  them  on  their  guard  against  an)'  at- 


DEATH    AND    RESURRECTION    OF   JESUS.  1 33 

tempt  at  an  imposition  of  this  kind,  as  being  fore- 
warned, they  could  take  all  the  necessary  preca.utions 
to  prevent  the  success  of  such  a  scheme,  if  designed, 
as  we  know  that  the  Jews  and  Romans  did.  It  is 
hardly  credible  that  even  the  bitterest  enemy  of  Christ, 
would  attribute  to  Him  such  a  cleQ^ree  of  weakness  or 
want  of  foresight,  as  would  be  implied  in  such  a  charge 
as  this.  The  only  way  to  have  carried  out  such  a  plan, 
if,  indeed,  He  had  entertained  it,  would  have  been  by 
practising  the  sly  art,  and  the  tricks  of  a  juggler. 

There  was  nodiing  like  this  ever  exhibited  in  the  life 
and  character  of  Jesus.  His  instructions  were  all 
given  in  the  most  public  manner.  His  miracles 
were  performed  in  open  daylight,  in  the  presence  of 
immense  multitudes.  And  so,  in  regard  to  the  matter 
of  His  resurrection.  He  did  not  keep  it  a  profound 
secret,  locked  up  in  His  own  bosom,  or  confided  to 
two  or  three  faithful  followers,  chosen  for  the  express 
purpose  of  aiding  in  the  execution  of  His  idiotic  and 
impracticable  design,  as  it  certainly  was,  on  the  theory 
that  He  was  only  a  man  and  an  impostor.  It  is  not 
possible  that  any  intelligent  person  can  believe  this, 
except  in  opposition  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  sober 
reason  and  judgment. 

III.  Jesus  had  the  whole  power  of  the  Roman  and 
Jewish  people  arrayed  against  Him,  to  prevent  the 
execution  of  His  design  of  a  pretended  and  posthu- 
mous miracle  in  rising  from  the  dead,  even  if  He  had 
meditated  any  such  thing.  For  they  went  to  Pilate, 
saying: 

"Sir,  we  remember  that  that  deceiver  said,  while  He 


134  MOSKS    AND    Till:    I'll  1L(J.■^()1>1U•■.KS. 

was  yet  alive,  After  three  days  I  will  rise  again.  Com- 
mand, therefore,  that  the  sepulchre  be  made  sure, 
until  the  third  day,  lest  His  disciples  come  by  night, 
and  steal  Him  away,  and  say  unto  the  people.  He  is 
risen  from  the  dead  ;  so  the  last  error  shall  be  worse 
than  the  first." 

And  it  was  done,  as  they  desired,  for  Pilate  said 
unto  them  : 

"Ye  have  a  watch  ;  go  your  way,  make  it  as  sure  as 
ye  can."  And  it  is  added:  "So  they  went,  and  made 
the  sepulchre  sure,  scaling  the  stone,  and  setting  a 
watch." 

They  made  a  sure  thing  of  it.  They  were  deter- 
niined  to  make  it  sure.  And  can  we  believe  that  any- 
thing would  have  been  left  undone  which  they  could 
do,  to  insure  the  safe-keeping  of  the  bod\'  ?  They 
went,  and  made  the  sepulchre  sure,  scaliiio-  (he  slone, 
and  scttiiid:  a  luatch. 

The  sepulchre  belonged  to  Joseph,  a  rich  man  of 
Arimathea.  It  was  hewn  out  of  a  rock,  and  located 
in  a  garden  near  the  spot  where  the  crucifixion  had 
taken  place.  The  door  or  entrance  was  in  the  side 
of  the  rock,  and  was  large  enough  not  only  to  contain 
the  dead  body,  but  to  admit  living  persons  almost  in 
a  standing  posture.  Here  the  body  of  Jesus  was  en- 
tombed ;  and  then  they  rolled  a  great  stone  to  the 
door,  which,  probably,  it  took  a  number  of  men  to 
move  ;  and  after  it  was  rolled  to  the  entrance,  it  was 
sealed. 

But  this  was  not  all.  Pilate  said  unto  the  chief 
priests:  "Ye  have  a  watch,  make  it  as  sure  as  ye 
can."     The  Roman  Centurion  was  there  with  his  band 


DEATH    AND    kESURRECTlON    OF   JESUS.  1 35 

V 

of  soldiers.  They  set  the  watch — that  is,  they  placed 
a  guard,  consisting"  of  sixty  to  ofie  hundred  Roman 
soldiers,  to  watch  that  sepulchre  by  day  and  by  night. 
They  made  it  as  sure  as  they  could. 

What  more  could  they  have  done  to  have  made  it 
more  sure?  History  makes  known  to  us  what  a 
Roman  soldier  was.  A  better  disciplined,  or  a  better 
trained  soldiery  the  world  has  never  seen.  It  was 
certain  death  for  a  Roman  soldier  ever  to  be  found 
sleeping  at  his  post  of  duty.  And  was  not  the  sep- 
ulchre made  sure?  And  what  was  it  all  for?  It  was 
all  for  nothing,  except  that  they  had  heard  Jesus  fore- 
tell the  fact  of  His  own   resurrection. 

They  did  not  believe  that  He  was  going  to  rise 
from  the  dead.  Nobody  believed  that,  not  even  His 
most  trusted  followers,  as  we  have  ah'eady  seen.  But 
they  thought  there  was  a  bare  possibility  that,  unless 
they  took  measures  to  prevent  it,  the  disciples  might 
attempt  to  get  possession  of  His  body,  and  then  cir- 
culate the  report  that  He  had  indeed  risen  from  the 
dead  according  to  His  word.  And  if  they  should  do 
nothing  to  counteract  such  an  attempt,  they  could  not 
contradict  the  report,  if  circulated,  and  the  world 
might  have  believed  the  report,  though  it  was  only  a 
deception  and  a  fraud. 

The  Jews  would  never  have  gone  to  Pilate  on  the 
subject — Pilate  would  never  have  issued  that  order — 
the  supulchre  would  not  have  been  sealed — the  watch 
would  not  have  been  set — these  precautions  would 
not  have  been  thought  of,  if  Jesus  had  never  said  any 
thing  about  rising  from  the  dead,  and  if  they  had  not 
imagined  the  possibility  of  such  a  fraud.     They  knew 


136  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

that  Jesus  was  dead.  That  was  all  they  wanted. 
They  had  no  thought — no  f(;ar  of  His  risln;^  from 
the  dead.  But  they  had  fears  that  a  fraud  might 
be  practised — that  a  false  rumor  might  be  circu- 
lated. oTowing  out  of  His  prediction,  and  they  took 
effectual  measures  to  prevent  that. 

And,  perhaps,  it  is  a  fortunate  thing  for  Christianity 
that  they  did  so.  It  adds  greatly  to  the  strength  of 
the  aroument  in  favor  of  the  Resurrection.  For,  if 
they  had  not  taken  all  those  precautions  to  prevent 
the  perpetration  of  a  fraud,  the  unbeHeving  world 
would  surely  have  said  that  there  was  a  fraud,  as  in. 
the  absence  of  any  such  precautions,  the  disciples 
might  have  robbed  the  sepulchre,  and  then  there 
would  have  been  an  appearance  of  plausibility  in  the 
report  that  He  had  risen.  But  now  they  have  no  such 
plea.     The  sepulchre  was  made  sure. 

As  a  Christian  we  can  say  that  we  feel  devoutly 
thankful,  that  all  was  done  which  it  was  possible  for 
the  jjowers  in  Jerusalem  to  do,  to  secure  the  sepulchre 
and  prevent  a  fraud.  Doubtless,  there  Avas  a  special 
Providence  in  this,  as  well  as  in  all  other  events  con- 
nected with  the  resurrection  of  our  Lord.  But  their 
efforts  and  their  power  did  not  avail  to  hold  their  vic- 
tim in  the  tomb. 

\\\  The  vacant  tomb  Is  another  strong  presump- 
tive but  conclusive  proof,  that  Jesus  arose  ^rom  the 
dead.  The  g^rave  did  not  retain  its  prey.  The  body 
of  Jesus  escaped  from  its  rocky  and  solid  prison,  not- 
withstanding it  had  been  sealed  up  tight,  and  notwith- 
standing it  was  guarded  day  and  night,  by  a  body  of 
the  best  trained  soldiers  in  the  world.  Could  they 
keep  the  Son  of  God  in  the  grave ! 


DEATH    AND    RESURRECTION    OF   JESUS.  1 3/ 

The  Jewish  people  never  even  pretended  to  deny 
the  fact,  that  the  sepulchre  which  contained  the  body 
of  Christ,  was  vacated — was  found  empty  on  the  third 
day.  On  the  contrary,  their  attempt  to  account  for 
the  manner  in  which  it  happened,  was  a  direct  admis- 
sion of  the  fact.  They  had  been  foiled  in  their  attempt 
to  hold  possession  of  their  victim,  and  they  felt  it. 
The  authorities  of  the  Jewish  nation,  with  the  whole 
power  of  the  Roman  government  to  aid  them,  had 
been  foiled  and  defeated,  and  the  tomb  had  burst 
open  its  door,  and  their  victim  had  escaped. 

We  place  considerable  stress  on  this  argument.  It 
would  not  amount  to  very  much,  if  they  had  not  done 
all  they  could  to  hold  the  body  of  our  Lord  in  its 
place  of  confinement,  till  after  the  third  day,  for  the 
very  purpose  of  guarding  against  that  error — that 
serious  trouble  that  came  on  them  at  last,  despite  all 
their  efforts. 

How  were  they  foiled  and  overcome  in  their  mad 
attempt,  to  hold  the  body  of  the  Son  of  God  in  the 
grave?  Any  one  living  in  Jerusalem  at  the  time,  and 
having  a  full  knowledge  of  all  the  measures  taken  to 
keep  the  body  secure  in  its  confinement,  would  have 
said  that  no  earthly  power  could  have  plundered  or 
robbed  that  tomb.  But  on  the  third  day,  the  sepul- 
chre was  found  empty.  The  vicdm  had  escaped. 
The  grave  clothes,  the  napkin,  and  the  fine  linen  care- 
fully folded  and  laid  on  one  side,  were  all  there.  But 
the  body  of  Jesus  was  missing.  This  has  never 
been  denied. 

V.  The  improbable  and  self-contradictory  story,  in- 
vented to  account  for  the  way  in  which  the  sepulchre 


I3S  MOSES    AND    THE    I'HILOSOPHERS. 

became  \acant,  is,  in  itself,  a  conclusive  argument  for 
the  resurrection.  That  story  was  to  the  effect  that 
the  Roman  soldiers  fell  asleep,  and  that  the  disciples 
came  by  night  and  stole  the  body  while  they  slept — a 
story  that  never  could  have  been  seriously  believed  by 
any,  except  very  ignorant  and  credulous  people,  neither 
at  the  time  when  it  was  hrst  put  into  circulation  at 
Jerusalem,  nor  at  any  time  since.  For,  in  the  first 
place,  the  story  is  entirely  improbable ;  and  in  the 
second  place,  it  contradicts  itself.  Let  us  look  at  it  in 
both  of  these  features. 

I.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  utterly  improbable.  If  the 
soldiers  had  slept  at  their  posts,  they  would  have  been 
put  to  death  without  mercy.  This  was  the  law  of  the 
Roman  PImpire — a  law  always  rigidly  enforced.  And 
we  may  believe  that  the  rulers  of  the  Jews,  who  were 
so  anxious  to  keep  that  body  secure,  would  have  been 
loudest  in  demanding  the  punishment  of  those  soldiers, 
if  diey  had  really  proved  faithless  to  their  duty,  and 
had  thus  given  an  opportunity  to  the  disciples  to  cheat 
them,  after  all,  by  getting  possession  of  the  body  of 
Christ.  Instead  of  offering  bribes  to  those  soldiers, 
they  would  have  complained  of  them  to  the  governor, 
and  would  have  demanded  their  punishment.  If  the 
soldiers  had  been  punished  with  death,  this  simple 
fact  would  have  established  the  jM-oof  of  their  guilt, 
and  of  the  robbery  of  the  sepulchre  by  the  disciples. 
And  this  is  the  course  tlut  Jews  would  ha\e  pursued, 
if  they  wanted  this  story  to  be  credited.  But  it  is  im- 
possible to  credit  the  report  which  they  caused  to  be 
circulated,  as  it  bears  on  its  very  face  the  evidence 
that  tlu\-  did  not,  themselvc:s,  believe  it. 


DEATH    AND    RESURRECTION    OF   JESUS.  1 39 

If  we  should  admit  diat  some,  even  many  of  the 
soldiers  slept,  yet  they  could  not  all  have  slept  at  once, 
and  there  were  at  least  sixty  of  them.  But  if  there 
be  any  idiotic  enough  to  believe  this,  still  it  would  not 
be  a  credible  thing,  that  they  all  slumbered  and  slept  so 
soundly,  that  not  one  of  them  was  awakened  by  the 
noise  that  must  have  been  consequent- on  an  attempt, 
by  a  number  of  persons,  passing  through  the  midst  of 
them,  as  otherwise  they  could  not  have  made  their 
way  to  the  tomb,  breaking  the  seal,  rolling  away  the 
great  stone  from  the  mouth  of  the  sepulchre,  and 
carrying  off  the  dead  body  in  triumph.  This  would 
have  been  a  feat  that  has  never  been  performed, 
simply  because  of  the  impossibility  of  tlie  thing. 
Even  if  they  slept,  some  one  must  have  been  waked. 

Another  consideration  is  the  fact,  that,  if  the  soldiers 
had  even  been  recreant  to  their  duty,  and  incurred 
the  penalty  of  death,  it  is  contrary  to  all  probabilities 
that  they  would  have  betrayed  themselves,  by  a  con- 
fession of  their  crime.  There  were  no  others  to 
report  on  them,  or  to  betray  them  ;  and  if  betrayed  at 
all,  they  had  to  betray  themselves,  which,  we  know, 
they  would  not  have  done,  at  the  risk  of  certain  death. 
The'  fact  in  the  case  is,  that  they  did  not  sleep  ;  and 
they  did  not  confess  that  they  had  slept  while  watching 
the  sepulchre.  They  went  and  reported  the  facts  as 
they  occurred.     The  record  in  the  case  is  : 

"  Behold,  some  ot  the  watch  came  into  the  city,  and 
showed  unto  the  chief  priests  all  the  things  that 
were  done."  What  things  ?  "  Behold,  there  was  an 
earthquake  ;  for  the  angel  of  the  Lord  descended  from 
heaven,  and  came  and  rolled  back  the  stone  from  the 


I40  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

sepulclire  and  sat  upon  it.  And  his  countenance  was 
like  lightning",  and  his  raiment  was  white  as  snow,  and 
for  fear  of  him  the  keepers  did  shake,  and  became  as 
dead  men." 

These  were  the  facts,  and  the  soldiers  were  terrified, 
as  any  mortal  men  would  have  been  in  the  circum- 
stances. As  soon  as  they  could  recover  from  their 
fright,  some  of  them  started  immediately  to  the  city, 
to  inform  the  chief  priests  what  had  happened.  Now 
what  could  the  chief  priests  do?  They  knew  the  sol- 
diers were  not  lying — their  agitation,  their  whole  ap- 
pearance and  manner  showed  that  they  w-ere  sincere, 
and  that  something  strange  and  unusual  had  happened 
to  roll  awa)'  the  great  stone,  and  remove  the  body 
from  the  sepulchre. 

They  were  troubled  at  the  tidings.  They  did  not 
know  what  to  do  in  the  circumstances.  This  was  a 
contingency  they  had  not  expected.  They  had  not 
looked  for  any  literal  resurrection,  and  had  not  be- 
lieved it  possible.  But  here  was  something  very 
strange.  They  could  not  doubt  what  was  told  them 
by  the  soldiers.  There  had  been  an  earthquake,  and 
they  must  have  seen  something  that  alarmed  and 
troubled  them.     Something  must  be  done. 

It  would  not  do  for  the  report  to  go  abroad,  that,  Jesus 
had  actually  risen  from  the  dead,  for  that  would  involve 
them  in  the  guilt  of  having  slain  the  Son  of  God  and 
the  Messiah,  as  He  claimed  to  be,  and  for  which  they 
had  put  Him  to  death.  But  how  could  they  prevent 
such  a  report  from  going  out  through  all  Jerusalem? 
If  all  the  facts,  as  reported  by  the  soldiers,  should 
come  to  the  ears  of  the  people,  they  would  belic\e  in 


DEATH    AND    RESURRECTION    OF    JESUS.  I4I 

the  resurrection,  and  then,  probably,  in  their  sober 
second  thought,  they  would  have  been  maddened 
against  His  murderers,  and  stoned  them  or  otherwise 
put  them  to  death.  And  so  indeed  the  last  error  had 
been  worse  than  the  first. 

After  deliberating  among  themselves,  they  could 
devise  but  one  way  by  which  to  extricate  themselves 
from  the  terrible  dilemma  in  which  they  had  become 
involved,  and  that  was  to  call  the  sjQldiers  privately, 
to  offer  them  "■  large  money'''  and  bribe  them  to  say 
that  they  had  slept,  and  that  the  disciples  had  stolen 
away  His  body  by  night.  But  to  secure  the  concur- 
rence of  the  soldiers  in  this  plan,  even  by  the  offer  of 
large  money,  they  had  first  to  give  them  the  pledge 
that,  "if  this  come  to  the  governor's  ears,  we  will  per- 
suade him,  and  secure  you."  This  is  the  story  that 
went  abroad  among  all  the  Jews,  and  was  prevalent 
for  many  years. 

2.  But  the  story  contradicts  itself,  and  must,  there- 
fore, be  false,  as  nothing  that  is  self-contradictory  can 
be  true.  They  gave  large  money  to  the  soldiers, 
saying:  "Say  ye,  His  disciples  came  by  night,  and 
stole  Him  away  while  we  slept."  They  could  have 
been  bribed  to  say  that  they  slept,  but  they  could  not 
have  been  bribed  to  say,  what  happened  while  they 
were  asleep,  as  no  one  can  testify  what  takes  place 
while  he  is  wrapped  in  profound  slumber.  If  they 
slept  as  they  testify,  how  could  they  know  whether  the 
disciples  or  some  other  parties  stole  away  the  bod}^, 
or  whether  He  arose  from  the  dead?  But  they  were 
hired  to  testify  not  only  that  they  slept — that  would 
not  quite  have  satisfied  the  rulers  of  the  Jews — but  to 


142  MOSES    AND   THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

testify  that  the  disciples  came  by  night  and  stole  Him 
away,  while  they  slept.  They  bare  witness  to  what 
was  done,  when  their  eyes  were  closed  in  sleep,  and 
they  could  not  see  it.  This  is  the  contradiction  in  the 
case.  The  story,  therefore,  refutes  itself.  There  is 
nothing  surprising  in  the  fact  that  the  soldiers  should 
have  been  hired  by  the  offer  of  /aroc  nioiicy  to  tell 
such  a  falsehood,  when  they  were  secured  from  all 
harm. 

M.  The  disciples  of  our  Lord  could  have  had  no 
inducement — much  less  any  disposition  to  rob  the  sep- 
ulchre. On  the  contrary,  every  motive  or  considera- 
tion growing  out  of  the  crucifixion  and  their  previous 
connection  with  the  Saviour,  must  have  operated  just 
the  other  way — to  make  them  wait  patiently,  to  see 
whether  He  would  rise  from  the  dead.  We  have  al- 
ready seen  from  the  Scriptures  that  they  did  not 
believe  He  would  rise,  because  they  did  not  under- 
stand the  spiritual  nature  of  His  kingdom.  But  if  we 
admit  that  some  of  them  may  have  had  faith  in  His 
word,  and  that  He  would  rise  on  the  third  day,  they 
knew,  of  course,  that  He  would  not  need  their  assist- 
ance to  help  Him  rise. 

But  if  they  had  no  faith  in  His  resurrection — if  they 
believed  that  He  was  totally  dead,  never  more  to  re- 
sume His  natural  life,  they  had  no  use  for  His  dead 
body,  which  was  already  turning  to  corruption,  and 
they  could  certainly  gain  nothing  by  having  it  in  their 
possession.  He  could  do  nothing  more  for  them. 
What  they  wanted  was  a  living,  not  a  dead  Saviour. 
What  could  they  have  expected  by  adhering  any  longer 
to  the  fortunes  of  one,  who,  instead  of  making  himself  a 


DEATH    AND    RESURRECTION    OF   JESUS.  1 43 

king-,  could  not  save  himself  from  his  enemies,  but 
had  been  taken  by  them,  and  put  to  death  as  a  male- 
factor ? 

If,  in  His  lifetime,  they  had  been  deceived  by  Him 
in  pretending  to  be  the  Son  of  God,  they  had  nothing 
to  gain  by  trusting  Him  any  longer.  Their  onh"  hope 
was  in  His  resurrection,  in  which,  as  before  stated, 
they  had  little  or  no  faith.  They  were  few  in  number 
— they  were  scattered  and  ciispersed,  going  back,  many 
of  them,  to  their  former  occupations,  as  if  all  their  ex- 
pectations concerning  the  Messiah  had  been  destroyed. 
They  talked  and  acted  like  persons  utterly  dejected 
and  disappointed.  And  it  would  have  been  madness 
in  such  a  set  of  men  to  have  meditated  the  plundering 
of  the  sepulchre.  If  they  had  a  spark  of  hope  left, 
they  would  have  said,  let  us  wait  and  see  whether  He 
will  rise.  This  aro^ument  is  conclusive  aerainst  the 
report  circulated  by  the  chief  priests  through  the 
soldiers. 

VII.  Having  presented  a  summary  view  of  the  cir- 
cumstantial and  presumptive  proof  in  favor  of  the 
Resurrection  of  Jesus,  we  come  now  to  the  direct  and 
positive  proof,  founded  on  the  testimony  of  eye-wit- 
nesses, or  those  who  saw  Him  alive  after  the  cruci- 
fixion. In  order  to  see  this  proof  in  its  conclusive- 
ness, these  three  conditions  are  necessary,  viz, :  first, 
a  competent  number  of  witnesses ;  secondly,  that  the 
character  of  the  witnesses  be  such  as  to  eive  credi- 
bility  to  their  testimony ;  and  thirdly,  that  their  testi- 
mony be  given  under  such  circumstances  as  to 
preclude  the  supposition  of  any  possible  gain,  by 
bearincr  false  witness. 


144  MOSES    AND    TIIK    PHILOSOPHERS. 

I.  ]C  Christ  Jesus  had  never  manifested  Himself 
alive  to  any  of  His  followers  after  His  passion,  we 
must  admit  that  all  the  circumstantial  evidence  would 
have  been  insufficient  to  establish  the  fact  of  the 
Resurrection,  and  there  would  have  been  no  such 
thing  as  the  system  of  Christianity  in  the  world  at 
this  time. 

The  positive  testimony  of  eye-witnesses,  in  favor 
of  the  Resurrection  of  Jesus,  was  all  that  could  have 
been  demanded,  and  was  of  a  nature  sufficient  to  es- 
tablish any  fact  before  any  tribunal  in  the  world. 
Jesus  showed  Himself  alive  to  many  persons,  and 
on  divers  occasions,  during  the  space  of  forty  days 
that  elapsed  between  the  periods  of  His  resurrection 
and  His  ascension.  He  was  seen  altogether  of  five 
hundred  persons. 

He  was,  first,  seen  by  the  three  women  who  visited 
the  sepulchre  on  the  morning  of  the  third  day.  Their 
purpose  in  visiting  the  tomb  thus  early  in  the  morning, 
was  not  to  see  whether  He  had  risen,  for,  as  we  have 
seen,  there  was  no  such  thought  in  the  minds  of  any 
of  His  disciples.  But  they  knew  that  He  was  dead, 
and  they  w'ent  bearing  spices  and  ointments  with 
which  to  embalm  His  body.  And  while  they  were 
saying  among  themselves,  "who  shall  roll  us  away  the 
stone  from  the  door  of  the  sepulchre  ?  "  when  they 
looked,  "they  saw  that  the  stone  was  rolled  away;  for 
it  was  very  great.  And  entering  into  the  sepulchre, 
they  saw  a  young  man  sitting  on  the  right  side,  clothed 
in  a  long  white  garment,  and  they  were  affrighted. 
And  He  saith  unto  them,  be  not  affrighted  ;  ye  seek 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  which  was  crucified;   He  is   risen; 


DEATH    AND    RESURRECTION    OF    JESUS.  I45 

He  is  not  here ;  behold  the  place  where  they  laid 
Him.  But  g-o  your  way,  tell  His  disciples  and  Peter, 
that  He  goeth  before  you  into  Galilee ;  there  shall  ye 
see  Him,  as  He  said  unto  you.  And  they  went  out 
quickly,  and  fled  from  the  sepulchre  ;  for  they  trem- 
bled, and  were  amazed ;  neither  said  they  any  thing 
to  any  man,  for  they  were  afraid." 

They  were  equally  overwhelmed  with  fear  and 
amazement  as  the  soldiers,  at  the  vision  which  they 
had  seen.  How  litde  they  had  expected  to  see  such 
a  sight,  or  to  hear  such  words !  The  women  went  to 
tell  them  that  had  been  with  Him  ;  and  Matthew  tells 
us  that,  as  they  went,  "  Behold  Jesus  met  them, 
saying.  All  hail.  And  they  came  and  held  Him  by  the 
feet,  and  worshipped  Him."  Then  they  returned 
from  the  sepulchre,  and  told  all  these  things  unto  the 
eleven  and  to  all  the  rest.  And  it  is  said  that  "their 
words  seemed  to  them  as  idle  tales,  and  they  believed 
them  not." 

The  next  time  Jesus  appeared  unto  two  of  the 
disciples  as  they  journeyed  to  the  village  of  Emmaus. 
Afterward,  He  showed  Himself  "  unto  the  eleven,  as 
they  sat  at  meat,  and  upbraided  them  with  their  un- 
belief and  hardness  of  heart,  because  they  believed  not 
them  which  had  seen  Him  after  He  was  risen."  Luke 
is  more  full  in  giving  the  details  of  this  appearance  of 
Jesus  to  the  eleven.     He  says : 

"  They  were  terrified  and  affrighted,  and  supposed 
that  they  had  seen  a  spirit.  And  He  said  unto  them, 
Why  are  ye  troubled  ?  and  why  do  thoughts  arise  in 
your  hearts?  Behold  my  hands  and  my  feet,  that  it 
is  I,  myself;  handle  me,  and  see  me ;  for  a  spirit  hath 


146  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

not  llcsli  and  bones,  as  ye  see  me  have.  And  when 
He  liad  tluis  spoken,  He  showed  them  His  liands 
and  His  feet.  And  while  they  yet  beheved  not  for 
joy,  and  wondered,  He  said  unto  them,  Have  ye  here 
any  meat?  And  they  orave  Him  a  piece  of  a  broiled 
fish,  and  of  a  honeycomb;  and  He  took  it  and  did  eat 
before  them." 

St.  John  mentions  the  circumstance  that  Thomas, 

"  One  of  the  twelve,  called  Didymus,  was  not  with 
them  when  Jesus  came.  The  other  disciples,  there- 
fore, said  unto  him,  We  have  seen  the  Lord.  But  he 
said  unto  them.  Except  I  shall  see  in  his  hands  the 
print  of  the  nails,  and  thrust  my  hand  into  His  side, 
I  will  not  believe.  And  after  eight  days  again  His 
disciples  were  w^ithin,  and  Thomas  with  them.  Then 
came  Jesus,  the  doors  being  shut,  and  stood  in  the 
midst,  and  said,  Peace  be  unto  you.  Then  saith  He  to 
Thomas,  Reach  hither  thy  finger,  and  behold  my  hands ; 
and  reach  hither  thy  hand,  and  thrust  it  into  my  side; 
and  be  not  faithless,  but  believing.  And  Thomas 
answered  and  said  unto  Him,  My  Lord,  and  my  God. 
Jesus  saith  unto  him,  Thomas,  because  thou  hast  seen 
me,  thou  hast  believed.  Blessed  are  they  which  have 
not  seen,  and  yet  have  believed." 

The  apostle  Paul  bears  the  following  testimony : 

"That  Christ  died  for  our  sins,  according  to  the 
Scriptures;  and  that  He  was  buried,  and  that  He  rose 
again  the  third  day,  according  to  the  Scriptures ;  and 
that  He  was  seen  of  Cephas,  then  of  the  twelve;  after 
that.  He  was  seen  of  above  five  hundred  brethren  at 
once ;  of  whom  the  greater  part  remain  unto  this 
present,  but  some  are  fallen  asleep.  After  that  He 
was  seen  of  James,  then  of  all  the  aposdes.  And  last 
of  all.  He  was  seen  of  me  also,  as  of  one  born  out  of 
due  time." 


DEATH    AND    RESURRECTION    OF   JESUS.  I47 

2.  The  next  inquiry  is,  whether  the  character  of  the 
witnesses  was  such  as  to  give  weight  and  credibility 
to  their  testimony.  Here  we  can  challenge  the  enemies 
of  the  Gospel  to  find  a  flaw  in  the  character  of  its  first 
witnesses.  They  were  not  weak,  nor  superstitious, 
nor  cowardly.  A  braver,  nobler  band  of  martyrs 
never  stood  up  for  any  cause  in  this  world. 

These  early  witnesses  could  not  have  entered  into 
a  conspiracy  to  deceive  the  world.  For  if  Christ 
did  not  rise,  what  had  they  to  gain  by  such  a  con- 
spiracy ? 

They  could  not  have  been  deceived  themselves,  as 
to  the  fact  concerning  which  they  testify.  They  could 
identify  the  body  or  the  person  of  Jesus,  as  that  which 
they  had  known  before  the  crucifixion.  He  gave  them 
all  the  sensible  proofs  possible  that  He  was  the  same 
person.  They  were  not  easily  convinced — they  were 
not  over-credulous.  The  high  priests  and  Scribes, 
and  Pilate  himself,  would  have  been  convinced  by  the 
same  kind  and  amount  of  evidence. 

They  saw  Jesus  alive  many  times — they  conversed 
with  Him — they  heard  Him — they  knew  His  voice, 
and  His  features — they  ate  with  Him.  In  fine,  they 
demanded,  and  they  were  afforded  all  the  proofs  which 
any  other  set  of  witnesses  in  the  world  could  have 
asked  in  a  similar  case.  In  fact,  as  we  have  seen, 
one  of  them,  Thomas,  was  almost  too  exorbitant  in 
his  demand  for  proof  that  Christ  had  risen.  But 
even  his  request  was  acceded  to.  Therefore,  they 
were  competent  to  bear  witness  as  to  the  fact  of  the 
Resurrection. 

3.  The  next  point  is,  were  they  without  any  motives 


I48  MOSES  ANP  Tin-:  riiii.osornERS. 

to  deceive  ? — had  they  anythinjr  to  gain  by  falsehood; 
or  anythin<r  to  lose  in  this  world  by  telling  the  truth? 
This,  after  all,  is  the  real  test.  We  assert,  without 
any  fear  that  the  assertion  will  be  controverted,  that 
they  had  everything  to  lose  in  this  world,  by  bearing 
faithful  testimony  for  Jesus,  and  nothing  to  gain  by 
false  testimony,  in  this  world  or  in  that  which  is  to 
come.  It  is  this  plain  and  undeniable  fact  that  has 
converted  the  world  to  Christianity. 

Look  at  those  twelve  apostles  of  Christ — they  be- 
gin to  preach  Jesus  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  Read  the 
sermon  of  Peter  preached  in  Jerusalem,  but  a  few  days 
after  the  resurrection — does  he  talk  like  a  deceiver, 
or  as  if  he  did  not  himself  believe  in  His  resurrection  ? 
His  conduct  is  quite  in  contrast  with  the  conduct  of 
Peter,  two  or  three  days  after  the  crucifixion,  when  he 
was  found  with  several  other  disciples  engaged  in 
his  former  occupation  of  fishing,  in  which,  doubtless, 
he  expected  to  spend  the  remainder  of  his  days. 
Then  he  knew  that  Jesus  had  been  crucified,  but  he 
did  not  know  of  His  resurrection.  It  was  this  addi- 
tion to  his  knowledofe  which  made  the  difference  be- 
tween  Peter  before  the  resurrection,  and  Peter  after 
the  resurrection. 

When  he  had  seen  the  risen  and  living  Saviour, 
and  had  received  the  promise  of  the  Spirit,  he  put 
away  his  boat  and  fishing-tackle,  to  become  thence- 
forward a  fisher  of  men.  Who  can  read  that  remark- 
able and  pungent  discourse  delivered  in  the  heart  of 
Jerusalem,  without  believing  that  he  was  earnest  and 
sincere,  since  at  the  risk  of  his  own  life,  he  laid 
the  crime  of  murder  to  the  charije  of  those  who  had 


DEATH    AND    RESURRECTION    OF   JESUS.  I49 

taken  Him,  and  with  wicked  hands  had  crucified  Him. 
saying : 

"  Let  all  the  house  of  Israel  know,  assuredly,  that 
God  hath  made  that  same  Jesus  whom  ye  have  cruci- 
fied, both  Lord  and  Christ." 

We  can  challenge  the  world  to  produce  a  specimen 
of  a  discourse,  in  which  a  greater  degree  of  fearless- 
ness, fidelity  and  sincerity  are  evinced,  than  in  that 
sermon  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  Not  even  Martin 
Luther  exhibited  a  bolder  spirit,  when  he  said,  that,  he 
would  attend  the  Diet  at  Worms,  though  there  should 
be  as  many  devils  assembled  there,  as  there  were  tiles 
on  the  roofs  of  the  houses. 

The  city  was  crowded  with  people ;  and,  moreover, 
he  was  addressing  that  very  populace  who,  before  the 
bar  of  Pilate,  not  two  months  before,  had  uttered 
those  mad  shouts  of  "  Crucify  Him  !  crucify  Him  !  " 
Now  Peter  stands  up  before  them,  charging  them  with 
the  crime — "  God  hath  made  that  same  Jesus  whom 
ye  have  crucified,  both  Lord  and  Christ"  —  it  was 
almost  a  sublime  spectacle.  How  did  he  know  but 
they  would  be  shouting  for  his  blood,  in  the  same 
manner  they  did  for  the  blood  of  his  Divine  Lord? 
He  did  not  know,  and  he  did  not  much  care,  for 
he  was  not  a  man,  then,  to  confer  with  flesh  and 
blood. 

Even  those  Jewish  rulers  who  had  plotted  the  death 
of  the  Son  of  God,  and  whose  hands  were  reeking 
with  His  blood,  believed  that  the  apostles  were  sin- 
cere. The  most  learned  and  famed  Jew,  perhaps, 
then  living,   stood   up    to    defend  the  aposdes ;    and 


150  MOSES    AND    THE    I'M  ILOSOPHERS. 

in  tliat  defence  he  made  use  of  these  remarkable 
worels  : 

"And  now,  I  say  unto  you,  refrain  from  these  men, 
and  let  them  alone;  for  if  this  counsel  or  this  work 
be  of  men,  it  will  come  to  nou<4ht ;  but  if  it  be  of  God, 
ye  cannot  overthrow  it,  lest  haply  ye  be  found  even 
to  fight  against  God."  And  it  is^said  that,  "  to  him 
they  agreed;"  thereby  admitting  that  the  work  in 
which  the  apostles  were  engaged  might  be  of  God ; 
or.  in  oihcr  words,  tjiat  in  proclaiming  the  resurrection 
of  Jesus,  they  might  be  preaching  the  truth  of  God. 

"To  him  they  agreed" — and  yet  they  called  the 
apostles,  and  when  they  had  inllicted  on  them  many 
stripes,  "  they  commanded  that  they  should  not  speak 
in  the  name  of  Jesus,  and  let  them  go.  And  they  de- 
parted from  the  presence  of  th(i  council,  rejoicing  that 
they  were  counted  worthy  to  suffer  shame  for  His 
name.  And  daily  in  the  temple,  and  in  every  house, 
they  ceased  not  to  teach  and  to  i)reach  Jesus  Christ." 

The  first  confessors  of  Christ  gained  nothing  in 
this  world  ;  but  they  suffered  the  loss  of  friends,  and 
the  loss  of  property — they  were  exposed  to  shame, 
reproach,  stripes,  imprisonment  and  death — and  many 
of  them  actually  suffered  death  in  its  most  excruciat- 
ing forms,  for  the  name  of  Jesus.  This  is  evidence 
of  their  sincerity.  And  if  they  were  sincere,  this,  of 
itself,  is  a  demonstration  of  the  fact,  that  Jesus  arose 
from  the  dead.  For  thc^y  not  only  believed  it  them- 
selves, l)Ut  tlu-y  knew  it  from  the  evidence  of  their 
own  senses.  This  is  an  argument  which  admits  of  no 
answer. 

It  would   not   be   possible,  in   the  nature  of  things, 


DEATH    AND    RESURRECTION    OF    JESUS.  I5I 

for  any  honest  and  unprejudiced  mind,  to  study  care- 
fully the  life  and  conversion  of  the  apostle  Paul,  and 
conclude  that  he  was  an  impostor.  And  if  he  was 
not,  the  other  alternative  is  that  Christianity  is  true, 
that  it  is  divine.  Paul  gave  up  his  relig-ion,  country, 
friends — he  sacrificed  his  hopes  of  gain,  of  worldly 
fame,  all  things  for  Christ.  And  what  he  gained,  he 
tells  us — "stripes,"  imprisonments,  stonings,  poverty, 
scourgings,  desertion  of  friends,  cold,  hunger,  naked- 
ness ;  and  at  last  a  crown  of  martyrdom.  Was  he  a 
weak  man  ? 

The  life  and  history  of  Paul  soon  became  the  prop- 
erty of  the  whole  church  and  of  the  world  ;  and  the 
story  of  his  life  is  not  a  myth  or  a  fiction.  He  labored, 
and  travelled,  and  preached  for  many  years  in  all  the 
greatest  and  most  renowned  cities  of  the  world ;  such 
as  Jerusalem,  Damascus,  Ephesus,  Corinth,  Philippi, 
Athens,  Rome.  And  everywhere  he  went,  he  made 
his  mark.  It  would  be  as  irrational  to  say  that  the 
story  of  the  life  of  Plato,  or  Aristode,  is  a  pure  fiction, 
as  to  assert  the  same  of  the  apostle  Paul. 

N^o  fact  ever  occurred  in  the  annals  of  time,  better  at- 
tested than  the  Resurrection  of  fesits. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Mediatoi'ial  Kingdom  of  Christ. 

The  four  universal  kingdoms — The  fifth  and  last — An  extraordinary  spectacle 
— Christ  before  Pontius  Pilate — The  stone  cut  out  of  the  mountain — When 
Jesus  was  born — Civilization  of  Rome — Natural  causes  and  philosophy — Be- 
ginning and  ]irogress  of  Christ's  kingdom — Graphic  account  from  a  late  writer 
— The  supernatural  Hirth — Death  and  Resurrection  of  Christ  necessary — The 
great  commission — Wonderful  increase  of  knowledge — What  Aristotle  and 
Cicero  never  knew — The  revolution  Isaiah  and  Daniel  predicted — The  efficient 
agent,  the  Holy  Spirit — Strange  events  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost — Pentecostal 
seasons  in  modern  times — Dispensation  of  the  Spirit — Familiar  Christian 
phraseology — The  great  Revival  in  New  England  —  Dr.  Jonathan  Edwards' 
account — Testimony  of  Robert  Hall — The  great  Western  Revival  in  iScxD — 
Change  in  character  wrought  by  the  Spirit — Remarkable  instance  of  conver- 
sion— Cure  of  the  leprosy  of  sin — Extent  of  Christ's  kingdom — Sectarian  ig- 
norance— The  Church  the  Mediatorial  kingdom — Church  in  heaven  and  on 
earth  One — Of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven — Duration  of  the  Kingdom — 
Abel  the  first  subject — Jesus  as  Universal  King. 

LITTLE  did  Pontius  Pilate,  the  Roman  governor, 
know  or  suspect,  when  he  questioned  Jesus — 
"art  thou  a  king  then  ?  " — that  He  was  indeed  a  king 
— and  the  king  who  had  come  into  the  world  to  lay 
the  foundations  of  an  everlasting-  kino^dom.      Little 

o  o 

did  he  think  that  meek  and  quiet  man  arraigned 
before  him  as  a  common  malefactor,  was  destined,  in 
due  course  of  time,  to  be  known  and  honored  in  all 
nations  as  "the  king  of  kings." 

A  little  more  than  eighteen  centuries  have  rolled 
away,  and  Jesus  is  now  known  and  worshipped   by 

(•52) 


THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM    OF    CHRIST.  1 53 

near  four  hundred  millions  of  subjects  as  the  Lord  of 
lords,  and  the  King  of  kings.  The  Babylonian,  the 
Persian,  the  Grecian,  and  the  Roman  monarchies 
which  Daniel  saw  successively  swaying  the  sceptre  of 
universal  dominion,  have  all  passed  away,  and  the 
Fifth  dominion,  which  was  seen  as  a  little  stone  cut 
out  of  the  mountain  without  hands  in  the  days  of 
Rome,  is  now  beg^inninof  to  fill  the  earth. 

Already  there  are  more  subjects  embraced  in  this 
empire,  than  all  the  former  universal  kingdoms  to- 
gether ever  numbered  at  one  time.  And  they  are 
more  loyal — more  attached  to  their  King,  than  any 
other  subjects  ever  were  devoted 'to  their  sovereign. 
They  are  so  loyal  to  Him  that  they  are  willing  to  con- 
secrate their  lives  to  His  service;  and,  if  required, 
millions  of  them  would  lay  down  their  lives  for  His 
cause,  as  millions  have  done  in  the  past  centuries. 

This  is  certainly  an  extraordinary  spectacle — an 
anomalous  state  of  things.  The  sceptic  says  that  he 
does  not  believe  in  Jesus,  and  he  does  not  acknowl- 
edge His  authority  or  His  kingdom.  But  what  does 
he  do  with  the  prominent  fact  now  before  his  eyes, 
that  Jesus  does  indeed  reign  ?  How  will  he  dispose 
of  the  wonderful  prophecies,  which  so  clearly  foretold 
what  he  sees  has  actually  come  to  pass  ? 

The  time  had  come  when  the  Fifth  and  last  of  the 
monarchies  seen  by  Daniel  in  the  visions  of  prophecy, 
was  to  be  set  up.  The  Fourth  kingdom  was  then  at 
the  zenith  of  its  prosperity  and  glory.  Rome  claimed 
to  be  the  mistress  of  nadons.  The  mighty  empire, 
founded  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  had  passed  away.  The 
universal  dominion  of   Persia,  under  Cyrus,   Darius, 


154  MOSES   AND   THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

antl  Xerxes,  had  come  and  orone.  Then  the  Third 
monarchy,  founded  by  Alexander  the  Great,  afterward 
divided  into  four  parts,  accorciini^  to  the  vision,  had 
risen  up  and  passed  away,  in  turn.  Then  appeared 
thf;  last,  the  most  powt^rful  ol  the  four — the  iron  mon- 
archy of  Rome.  Neither  before  nor  since  the  rise  of 
these  ereat  kini^^doms,  has  there  been  a  material  dy- 
nasty  in  the  world,  that  swayed  a  universal  sceptre. 
The  Roman  empire,  according  to  the  vision,  was  to 
be  broken  up  into  ten  kinodoms,  which,  accordingly, 
came  to  pass,  as  history  shows.  But  in  the  days  of 
the  Fourth  kingdom,  or  in  the  time  of  the  Roman 
empire,  the  God  of  heaven  was  to  set  up  another — - 
the  Fifth  and  last  universal  monarchy  the  world  shall 
ever  see.     Daniel  said  : 

"In  the  days  of  these  kings,  shall  the  God  of  heaven 
set  up  a  kingdom,  which  shall  never  be  destro)'ed ; 
and  the  kingdom  shall  not  be  left  to  other  people, 
but  it  shall  break  in  pieces,  and  consume  all  tliese 
kingdoms,  and  it  shall  stand  forever." 

This  was  the  prediction.  The  kingdom  was  to  be 
set  up,  and  it  is  to  stand  forever.  Jesus  came  at  the 
time  appointed.  It  was  He  who  stood  before  Pontius 
Pilate,  and  when  questioned,  "art  thou  a  king?"  re- 
plied, "thou  sayest  that  I  am  a  king.  To  this  end 
was  I  born  ;  and  to  this  end  came  I  into  the  world." 
When  He  made  this  confession,  His  Mediatorial 
Kingdom  was  not  yet  set  up.  His  death,  and  His 
resurrection  from  the  dead,  were  to  form  the  founda- 
tion and  the  jjillars  which  support  that  kingdom.  And 
tlie  means  by  which  it  is  be  extended,  and  to  gain  all 
its  triumphs,  are  the  diffusion  of  tlie  knowledge  of 


THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM    OF    CHRIST.  1 55 

God  in  the  world,  and  the  outpouring-s  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  This  is  what  a  rationalist,  or  a  materialist  can 
never  understand. 

They  do  not  believe  in  miracles  ;  but  what  can  they 
make  of  this  Christian  Dispensation — this  new  spirit- 
ual dominion,  which  is  now  overturning-  all  the  former 
dispensations,  and  establishing  the  code  of  laws  en- 
acted by  Jesus,  in  their  place  ?  It  is  a  steady,  silent, 
but  progressive  revolution  which  has  been  brought  on 
the  world,  as  no  other  mighty  revolution  ever  was 
effected.  It  is  the  "stone  cut  out  of  the  mountain 
without  hands." 

There  are  no  natural  causes — no  laws  of  nature  in 
operation,  that  could  have  brought  about  the  result. 
The  causes  that  produced  the  change  are  altogether 
of  a  supernatural  origin — and  the  means  of  perpetuat- 
ino^  and  extending-  the  revolution,  are  above  nature — 
of  a  supernatural  character.  We  say,  then,  that  the 
Mediatorial  Kingdom  of  Jesus,  is  a  miraculous  king- 
dom. A  proper  discussion  of  the  subject,  will  make 
this  manifest  to  every  one,  who  will  admit  these  fol- 
lowing premises : 

1.  That  Jesus  now  has  a  kingdom  in  the  world, 
called  "the  Church  of  Christ;"  and  also,  sometimes, 
the  Christian  dispensation !' 

2.  That  Jesus  is,  at  this  day,  openly  acknowledged 
as  the  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords,  by  millions 
of  followers  in  nearly  all  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

3.  That,  prior  to  the  birth  of  Jesus  in  Bethlehem 
of  Judea,  this  kingdom  or  dispensation  had  no  exist- 
ence. 

4.  That,  at  the  period  of  His  Advent,  all  the  nations 


156  MOSES    AND    TIIK    I'll  1 LOSOPIIERS. 

of  the  earth  were  covered  with  the   darkness  of  su- 
perstition and  idolatry,  except  the  Jewish. 

5.  That  the  operation  of  natural  causes,  during  a 
period  of  four  thousand  years,  at  least,  that  had 
elapsed  from  the  date  of  creation,  had  entirely  failed 
to  put  an  end  to  idolatry,  or  to  generate  in  the  hearts 
of  mankind  any  knowledge  of  the  true  God, 

6.  That,  on  the  contrary,  from  a  date  as  far  back  as 
reliable  history  extends,  the  world  had  degenerated 
more  and  more,  so  that  the  moral  darkness  which 
covered  the  face  of  the  earth  at  the  period  of  the 
advent,  was  as  great,  if  not  greater,  than  at  any 
former  period. 

Jesus  was  born  in  the  year  of  the  world  4004,  as 
nearly  as  it  is  possible  to  fix  the  date.  The  civiliza- 
tions of  Babylon,  Persia,  and  philosophic  Greece,  had 
successively  swayed  the  world.  And  now  imperial 
Rome  was  at  the  height  of  her  grandeur.  They  had 
their  poets,  orators,  and  philosophers — their  fine  arts, 
their  Coliseums,  and  their  world-renowned  Senate  ; 
and  if  there  has  been  a  golden  age  in  the  past,  we 
might  say,  perhaps,  that  it  was  the  Augustan  age — 
the  very  age  when  Christ  was  born.  But  what  had 
Rome  done  for  the  amelioration  of  the  moral  condi- 
tion of  mankind?  A  historian  has  given  us  a  most 
graphic  description,  which  closes  as  follows  : 

"At  the  period  of  the  birth  of  Christ,  these  systems 
of  antiquity  had  worked  their  worst.  The  sceptre  of 
Rome  was  extended  over  all  the  countries  of  the 
West;  her  mission  was  accomplished;  with  her  tran- 
quility degf'ncratcd  into  stagnation,  and  ended  in  rot- 
tenness.     Humanity,  incapable  ot   subniitting  to  inac 


THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM    OF    CHRIST.  15/ 

tlvity,  fell  back  upon  itself,  and  revelled  in  selfishness, 
debauchery,  and  cruelty  ;  the  three  capital  errors  of 
antiquity  had  reached  their  apogee  ;  thirty  thousand 
gods  were  enthroned  in  the  capitol ;  the  slaves  of  the 
wealthy  citizens  were  thrown  into  the  fish  ponds  to 
fatten  the  mursenas  :  and  a  decree  of  the  Senate  de- 
clared that  all  women  belonged  by  right  to  Ca:;sar." 

This  is  a  fair  picture  of  the  moral  condition  of  the 
most  enlightened  portion  of  the  world — the  Roman 
Empire,  at  the  time  when  Jesus  was  born,  after  natural 
causes  and  philosophy  had,  for  four  thousand  years, 
clone  all  they  could  to  reform  it.  They  had  done  their 
very  best;  and  this  was  the  result.  Look  at  the  pic- 
ture— scrutinize  it  cHtically,  ye  sceptics,  and  say,  whether 
it  was  not  time  for  ycstts  to  make  His  appearance.  He 
came  at  the  time  appointed,  and  preordained  in  the 
counsels  of  heaven. 

And  now,  is  He  not  a  Kino-?  Does  not  He  reion? 
What  other  king  or  potentate  ever  reigned  before 
Him,  who  could  claim  the  homage  of  a  fourth  part  of 
as  many  vassal  subjects,  who  would  be  willing  to  lay 
down  their  lives  for  His  cause  ? 

There  is  progress — wonderful  progress  going  on  in 
the  world.  The  nations  are,  at  this  very  time,  being 
shaken  by  the  mighty  Providence  of  God,  to  prepare  the 
way  for  the  reign  of  His  Son.  Not  only  do  the  most  po- 
tent nations  of  the  earth  own  Jesus  as  the  Supreme 
Lord — as  America,  England,  Germany,  and  others,  but 
all  the  rest  of  the  world  are  getting  ready  to  submit  to 
His  sway.  The  great  ''Ruler''  has  indeed  come  out 
of  Bethlehem,  and  the  "star  of  Bethlehem"  is  already 
high  in  the  ascendency. 


I  58  MOSES    AND    TflE    PIIILOSOPHEKS. 

In  regard  to  the  preparations  now  i^oini^  forward  for 
the  universal  extension  of  Christ's  Kin^jdoni,  here  is 
wliat  a  late  writer  says: 

"Could  the  twelve  apostles  of  our  Lord  be  sum- 
moned back,  as  were  the  great  lawgiver  and  the  great 
prophet,  to  the  scene  of  the  manifestation  of  the  glory 
of  their  Master,  and  lifted  to  take  a  general  survey  of 
the  preparation  of  the  world  for  the  gospel  at  this 
time,  they  would  see  that  it  finds  nothing  equal  to  it, 
since  their  own  wonderful  and  culminating  era.  The 
empire  of  Japan  abolishing  the  ancient  idolatry  of 
Budhism  by  law,  and  bursting  fordi  into  a  mighty  en- 
treating cry  for  intellectual  and  spiritual  light;  China, 
queen  among  nations,  hoary,  humiliated,  bruised  with 
blows,  and  draireed  behind  the  chariot  of  foreiirn  con- 
querors,  ready  to  yield  to  any  demand  to  save  her 
life,  and  throwing  the  gates  of  a  thousand  cities  open 
to  the  preachers  of  a  new  and  dreaded  doctrine ; 
India,  revolutionized  since  the  terrible  Sepoy  rebel- 
lion, penetrated  with  five  thousand  miles  of  rail- 
road ;  her  deified  Ganges  compelled  to  scatter  its 
waters  to  irrigate,  and  give  life  to  once  barren  wastes, 
the  revenues  of  her  temples  forfeited  ;  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  her  sons  rejecting  the  decrepit  wisdom, 
and  the  complicated  creeds  of  their  fathers ;  the  Shah 
and  court  of  Persia,  putting  off  beard  and  turban,  and 
robes,  and  wearing  European  dress,  and  conforming 
to  Western  ideas  ;  Egypt  spanned  by  railroads  ;  Ethi- 
opia explored  by  Christian  missionaries  ;  miracles  of 
salvation  wrought  in  Madagascar;  Russia  rising 
through  the  peaceful  and  voluntary  emancipation  of 
her  serfs;  Spain,  Austria,  Italy,  and  France  breaking 
the  heavy  chains  of  a  thousand  years  of  despotic 
Papal  rule,  and  admitting  freedom  of  conscience,  and 
of  public  worship,  with  all  the  liberalizing  influences 
of  Protestantism   in   their  train  ;  slavery  abolished  in 


THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM    OF    CHRIST.  1 59 

America ;  civilization  and  the  Gospel  reaching  to  '  the 
going  down  of  the  Sun,'  on  the  Western  shores,  and 
the  commino^h'ncr  thereof  of  the  ancient  races  of  the 
East  with  ours ;  the  globe  netted  over  with  railroads 
and  telegraphs,  and  lines  of  steamers ;  the  tens  of 
millions  of  books  ;  the  hundreds  of  millions  of  news- 
papers ;  the  Bible  translated  into  every  important  lan- 
guage ;  Christian  hospitals,  Christian  schools,  Christian 
printing  presses,  Christian  commercial  and  social  in- 
itluences  penetrating  and  leavening  all  heathen,  Mo- 
hammedan, and  anti-Christian  lands." 

Here  is  a  very  marked  progress.  And  certain 
modern  philosophers  may,  possibly,  call  it '' Evolutionr 
But  it  is  a  striking  fact  that  it  is  a  species  of  ''Evolu- 
tion,''' or  progress,  that  extends  nowhere,  and  into  no 
countries,  except  those  where  Christian  missionaries 
have  penetrated,  and  carried  the  Bible.  It  is  a  prog- 
ress wrought  out,  and  effected  by  the  inherent  force 
of  Christianity  alone. 

We  have  said  that  this  kingdom  of  Jesus  was  not 
originated  by  the  operation  of  natural  causes — that 
the  existence  of  it  in  the  world  at  this  time,  is  a  super- 
natural— a  miraculous  event.  The  miraculous  birth 
of  Christ,  and  His  miraculous  resurrection  from  the 
dead,  are  the  great  facts  in  which  that  Kingdom  had 
its  inception ;  and  they  are  the  foundation  on  which  it 
rests. 

Irrespective  of  these  two  facts,  there  could  have 
been  no  Christianity  in  the  world.  But  we  do  not 
affirm  that  the  knowledge  of  these  facts  alone,  v^ould 
insure  the  extension  and  the  perpetuity  of  Christ's 
kingdom  in  the  world,  to  the  end  of  time.  He  would 
have  had  no   kingdom  on  earth,  to-day,  if  He  had 


l60  MOSES    AND    THE    rillLOSOPIIEKS. 

never  come  back  after  His  resurrection.  I  have  al- 
rf;ady  stated  that  the  diffusion  of  the  knowledge  of 
God,  or  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  out- 
pouring of  the  Holy  Spirit  are  the  active  agencies,  or 
instrumentalities  by  which  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  is 
carried  on,  and  by  which  it  achi«jves  its  victories  in 
the  world.  We  have  now  the  miraculous  causes,  and 
the  miraculous  agencies.  Let  us  view  them  sepa- 
rately. 

I.  And  first,  as  to  the  supernatural  birth  of  Christ, 
I  have  discussed  that,  in  the  chapter  on  the  Incarna- 
tion. The  birth  of  Jesus,  in  itself,  and  by  itself  con- 
sidered, was  of  no  significance,  and  had  nothing  to 
do  with  the  establishment  of  His  spiritual  kingdom 
in  the  world.  If  He  had  not  been  born  as  no  other 
man  ever  was,  there  is  no  reason  to  think  that  He 
would  ever  have  been  known  beyond  the  village 
where  He  was  born.  But  His  pre-existence,  His 
being  born  of  a  virgin,  His  being  born  in  Bethlehem, 
His  being  born  at  the  very  time  predicted,  the  numer- 
ous prophecies  proclaiming  His  advent,  and  the  song 
of  the  angels  that  heralded  His  birth — all  these  circum- 
stances connected  with  His  birth,  invest  it  with  all  the 
importance  that  we  can  attach  to  it,  and  stamp  on  it 
the  character  of  a  supernatural  event — a  miraculous 
birth. 

II.  The  manner  of  the  death  of  Christ  and  His 
Resurrection  from  the  dead,  we  stated  to  be  the  second 
fundamental  fact,  which  laid  the  foundation  of  the  king- 
dom which  He  came  to  establish.  This  was  the  theme 
of  the  last  chapter.  And  now^  we  shall  only  ask 
attention  to  a  peculiarity  connected  with  the  reign  of 


THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM    OF    CHRIST.  l6l 

Jesus,  wherein  it  differs  from  that  of  any  other  king 
or  potentate  the  world  has  ever  seen.  They  reign 
and  triumph  only  in  their  lifetime.  Death  always  ends 
their  dominion  and  power.  But  Jesus  had  to  die,  and 
to  rise  a^ain  from  the  dead,  before  His  kinodom  could 
be  fully  inaugurated.  This  was  clearly  the  subject  of 
prophecy.  And  as  a  matter  of  history,  there  ought 
not  to  be  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  in  any  honest  mind. 

No  wonder  the  Jews  did  not  understand  their  own 
Scriptures  concerning  Him.  No  other  king  had  ever 
triumphed  and  reigned  by  his  death.  And  how  could 
they  understand  that  the  Son  of  David  was  to  be  so 
unlike  David  himself.^  How  could  they,  reasoning 
from  natural  principles,  have  expected  anything  else 
but  a  temporal  kingdom  to  be  erected  by  their  prom- 
ised Messiah,  ruled  and  governed  in  His  lifetime,  and 
rivalling  in  glory  and  splendor  the  kingdom  established 
by  David,  the  greatest  conqueror  of  his  day?  They 
knew  nothing  about  a  spiritual  empire.  They  had 
never  heard  of  one  rising  from  the  dead,  and  reigning 
in  the  hearts  of  millions  of  subjects,  after  he  had  been 
put  to  death. 

If  we  would  censure  the  Jews  for  their  incredulity, 
and  their  wilful  rejection  of  the  true  Messiah,  yet,  let  us 
reflect,  that,  viewing  the  whole  subject  from  the  stand- 
point of  human  probabilities,  and  of  natural  philosophy, 
there  is  not  a  people  on  earth  that  would  not  have 
been  as  unbelieving  as  the  Jews,  in  regard  to  the  Mes- 
siah. It  was  something  new^ — a  new  sort  of  empire 
Jesus  came  to  establish,  founded  on  His  death, -and  His 
resurrection  from  the  dead  as  its  basis.  The  Jewish 
mind  had  not  been  sufficiently  schooled,  by  a  previous 


1 63  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

and  loni^  course  of  national  traininij;-,  to  comprehend 
or  to  receive  such  a  proposition  as  this.  No  natural 
man  could  receive  it. 

If  Jesus  had  been  born  among  the  educated  and 
refined  Greeks  or  Romans,  we  know  that  they  would 
have  treated  the  doctrine  of  His  resurrection  from  the 
dead  as  foolishness. 

III.  The  knowledg-e  of  the  Lord  is  to  be  diffused 
throughout  the  world ;  and  this  is  the  chief  instru- 
mentality by  which  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  is  to  be 
extended  and  perpetuated.  This  is  implied  in  the 
commission  given  by  Christ  to  His  disciples,  "Go  ye, 
therefore,  and  teach  all  nations."  This  is  spoken  of, 
and  truly,  as  "the  great  Commission."  Hundreds  of 
years  before,  Daniel  foreshadowed  the  giving  of  this 
commission,  saying:  "Many  shall  run  to  and  fro,  and 
knowledge  shall  be  increased."  Two  hundred  years 
earlier  still,  Isaiah  foreshadowed  it  in  language  equally 
clear — "They  shall  not  hurt  nor  destroy  in  all  my 
holy  mountain ;  for  the  earth  shall  be  full  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  Lord,  as  the  waters  cover  the 
sea." 

Whether  we  consider  the  import  of  this  prediction, 
or  the  terms  in  which  it  is  expressed,  it  is  wonderful, 
and  adapted  to  awaken  emotions  of  wonder  in  every 
thoughtful  mind.  The  prediction  was  uttered  in  an 
age  when  there  was  no  knowledge  of  God  in  all  the 
earth,  except  among  the  chosen  people  dwelling  on 
that  narrow  tract  of  land  called  Palestina.  Darkness 
covered  the  rest  of  the  world,  not  penetrated  by 
so  much  as  the  feeblest  ray  of  light  from  a  single 
star. 


THE   MEDIATORIAL   KINGDOM    OF   CHRIST.  163 

When  such  philosophers  as  Aristotle,  Pythagoras, 
Democritus  and  others,  knew  nothing  of  the  true 
God,  what  could  be  expected  of  the  mass  of  man- 
kind ? 

In  a  previous  chapter  it  was  explained  that  theologi- 
cal science  is  above  natural  science,  and  is  really  to 
be  ranked  as  a  supernatural  science.  This  is  the 
reason  that  men  who  depend  alone  on  their  intellect, 
and  are  determined  to  reason  out  everything,  and  to 
believe  only  what  they  can  reason  out,  fall  into  atheism. 
They  cannot  comprehend  the  existence  of  God,  for  this 
is  an  impossibility. 

There  must  needs  be  a  Revelation  from  God.  And 
we  have  such  a  Revelation  in  the  Bible.  The  "runninof 
to  and  fro,"  foretold  by  Daniel,  commenced  when  Jesus 
commissioned  His  disciples  to  go  into  all  the  world 
and  teach  all  nations.  From  that  day  to  the  present 
hour,  His  disciples  have  been  busy  in  the  execution 
of  that  commission. 

Of  course,  there  have  been  imiltihides  of  nominal  dis- 
ciples zoho  do  nothings  and  have  done  nothings  to  show 
that  they  recognize  the  binding  obligations  of  this  com- 
mand. But  t/ure  have  been  other  multitudes^  in  every 
age,  who  have  felt  the  obligation,  and  done  what  they 
could  to  help  fill  the  eai^th  with  this  pi'ecious  knowledge 
of  th2  Lord.     And  what  are  the  fruits  f 

What  is  the  result  of  this  running  to  and  fro  f  Why, 
already  we  see  sights  the  old  world  never  saw.  We 
behold  a  spectacle  that  Babylon,  Greece,  and  Rome, 
in  all  their  pomp  and  culture,  and  glory,  never  wit- 
nessed, and  never  even  could  have  dreamed  of. 
Aristotle  and  Epicurus,  with  all  their  philosophy  and 


164  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

learning-;  Homer  and  \'irL;il,  with  their  wonderful 
genius;  Demosthenes  and  Cicero,  with  their  surpass- 
ing eloquence  and  genius,  never  knew  as  much  about 
God,  and  never  had  as  correct  ideas  on  the  subject 
of  moral  right  and  wrong,  as  one  of  our  ten-year  old 
children,  who  has  received  the  ordinary  instruction 
imparted  in  any  of  the  innumerable  Sabbath  schools, 
established  in  nearly  every  city,  and  hamlet,  and  village 
on  the  four  continents  of  the  globe,  and  in  many  of 
the  distant  isles  of  the  sea. 

Has  there  not  come  a  revolution,  since  Daniel  and 
Isaiah,  and  Jeremiah,  and  Zechariah  prophesied,  and 
since  Jesus  gave  out  His  commission — a  revolution 
in  the  ideas  of  men — in  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord 
in  the  world,  such  as  not  the  wisest  of  the  ancient 
sacres  could  have  anticiiDated  or  dreamed  of,  even 
after  four  thousand  years'  experience,  and  fruitless 
experiments  ? 

The  "hereafter"  is  upon  us,  and  the  kingdom  has 
been  set  up.  The  "stone  cut  out  of  the  mountain 
without  hands  "  is  breaking  in  pieces,  and  pulverizing 
into  dust,  all  the  other  kingdoms, 

God  has  said  that  His  word  "shall  not  return  unto 
Him  void,  but  shall  accomplish  that  which  He  pleases, 
and  prosper  in  the  thing  whereto  He  hath  sent  it." 
Every  Bible  sent  forth  into  the  world — and  we  know 
that  the  "  British  Foreicrn  "  and  the  "American  Bible" 
societies  are  printing  and  circulating  millions  of  copies 
— and  more  and  more  every  year — every  Bible  that 
is  sent  forth,  is  giving  increased  volume  to  that  flood 
of  light  and  knowledge  that  is  soon  to  fill  the  earth,  as 
the  waters  cover  the  sea. 


THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM    OF    CHRIST.  1 65 

IV.  We  have  now  to  consider  the  outpouring  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  efficient  agency,  in  the  work  of 
promoting  and  extending  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  in  the 
world. 

This  is  a  theme  not  understood  by  the  children  of 
this  world,  as  explained  in  a  former  chapter,  since 
they  are  carnally  minded,  and  can  see  nothing  only 
as  it  is  presented  to  their  natural  eyes.  When  Jesus 
promised  the  gift  of  the  Spirit,  to  teach  His  disciples 
all  thinors,  and  to  brinof  all  thinofs  to  their  remem- 
brance,  whatsoever  He  had  said  unto  them,  He  at  the 
same  time  announced  that  the  world  could  not — would 
not  receive  the  Spirit,  because  they  could  not  see 
Him — or  could  not  have  any  sensible  proofs  of  His 
presence  or  existence. 

Our  modern  rationalists  deny  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity,  and,  of  course,  they  disbelieve  the  existence 
of  the  Spirit.  They  deny  the  doctrine  of  a  regenera- 
tion, or  a  change  of  heart  wrought  by  a  special  agency 
of  the  Spirit,  as  taught  by  Jesus  in  His  interview  with 
Nicodemus,  They  deny  it  because  of  the  mystery 
connected  with  it,  which  precludes  the  possibility  of 
their  being  able  to  comprehend  it.  It  is  a  super- 
natural work  or  change,  which  it  would  be  equally 
above  the  power  of  man  to  effect,  or  even  to  under- 
stand, as  it  would  be,  by  a  word,  to  recall  a  dead  body 
out  of  the  grave.  But  still  the  dispensation  of  Chris- 
tianity was  to  be  a  spiritual  dispensation. 

When  John,  the  forerunner,  came  preaching  in  the 
wilderness  of  Judea,  and  baptizing  with  water  unto 
repentance,  he  proclaimed  the  advent  of  His  king- 
dom, who  was  to  baptize  with  the  Holy  Ghost.     And 


l66  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

the  sacred  narrative  informs  us  explicitly,  that  the 
preaching-  of  the  first  sermon  under  this  new  and 
spiritual  dispensation  was  attended  by  a  very  remark- 
able outpouring  of  the  Spirit,  that  resulted  in  die 
conversion  of  three  tiioiisand  souls  in  a  single  day. 
The  impenitent  and  unbelieving-  portion  of  the  Jews 
were  amazed.  But  Peter,  explaining  the  phenomenon, 
said  : 

"Ye  men  of  Judea,  and  all  ye  that  dwell  at  Jerusa- 
lem, be  this  known  unto  you,  and  hearken  to  my 
words;  for  these  are  not  drunken,  as  ye  suppose, 
seeing  it  is  but  the  third  hour  of  the  day  ;  but  this  is 
that  which  was  spoken  by  the  prophet  Joel ;  iind  it 
shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days,  saith  God,  I  will 
pour  out  of  my  Spirit  upon  all  flesh;  and  your  sons 
and  your  daughters  shall  prophesy;  and  your  young 
men  shall  see  visions,  and  your  old  men  shall  dream 
dreams  ;  and  on  my  servants,  and  on  my  handmaidens, 
I  will  pour  out  in  those  days  of  my  Spirit;  and  they 
shall  prophesy." 

Peter  furnished  the  only  possible  solution  of  the 
strange  events  witnessed  on  the  day  of  Pentecost. 
It  was  "not  by  might,  nor  by  power,  but  by  my  Spirit, 
saith  the  Lord."  God  had  poured  out  His  Spirit. 
But  this  remarkable  display  had,  long  before,  been 
predicted  by  the  pfophet  Joel.  A  number  of  the 
prophets,  with  equal  clearness,  foretold  the  advent 
of  this  spiritual  kingdom  of  Christ.  Thus  Jeremiah 
said : 

"Then  will  I  sprinkle  clean  water  upon  you,  and  ye 
shall  be  cU>an,  from  all  your  filthlness  and  from  all 
your  idols  will  I  ch^anse  you.  A  new  heart  also  will 
1  give  you,  and  a  new  spirit  will  I  put  widiln  )ou  ;  and 


THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM    OP'   CHRIST.  l6j 

I  will  take  away  the  stony  heart  out  of  your  flesh,  and 
I  will  give  you  a  heart  of  flesh.  And  I  will  put  my 
Spirit  within  you,  and  cause  you  to  walk  in  my  stat- 
utes, and  ye  shall  keep  my  judgments  and  do  them." 

Here  is  a  prediction,  concerning  something  that 
was  to  come  to  pass  under  the  New  Testament  dis- 
pensation. It  sounds  very  much  like  a  prophecy 
concerning  the  ordinance  of  Bapdsm,  and  the  gift  of 
the  Spirit.  "I  will  sprinkle  clean  water  upon  you  " — 
"I  will  put  my  Spirit  within  you" — "a  new  heart  also 
will  I  give  you."  What  is  now  taking  place,  and  what 
took  place  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  and  has  been 
taking  place  ever  since  the  day  of  Pentecost,  is  here 
recorded  as  what  would  take  place  in  the  exact  words 
of  Jeremiah,  uttered  many  hundreds  of  years  before 
the  day  of  Pentecost. 

As  Peter  preached  Christ  at  Jerusalem,  and  thou- 
sands Vv^ere  converted  through  the  outpouring  of  the 
Spirit,  which  accompanied  the  word  preached,  so,  a 
Moody  goes  to  London,  or  to  Boston,  and  holds  up 
the  cross — the  simple  Gospel,  unadulterated  by  any 
admixture  of  human  learning  and  vain  philosophy, 
and  under  the  outpourin;^^s  of  the  same  Spirit,  thou- 
sands are  converted  in  a  brief  period — some  of  them, 
inebriates;  some  of  lliem,  gamblers;  some,  profane; 
some,  impure;  and  some,  infidels;  but  they  are  all  at 
once  changed — they  are  made  new  creatures,  and 
subscribe  themselves  by  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Christ. 

Our  philosophers  don't  know  what  to  make  of  this. 
They  can't  philosophize  upon  it.  There  was  nothing 
like  it  ever  known  in  Greece,  or  Rome,  or  Babylon. 


l68  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

There  is  nothing  like  it  known  now,  in  any  country, 
or  among  any  people,  except  where  the  Cross  of 
Christ  has  been  er(?cted,  and  this  new  and  glorious 
Spiritual  dispensation  has  been  made  known.  Hut 
wherever  Christianity  has  taken  root,  and  the  S{)irit 
has  come  down,  whether  on  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusa- 
lem, or  among  the  natives  of  Greenland,  or  the  slaves 
of  the  West  Indies,  or  the  savages  to  whom  David 
Brainerd  preached,  or  the  far-off  inhabitants  of  the 
South  seas,  or  the  refined  and  cultivated  citizens  of 
Boston,  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  are  always  the  same 
— "  Love,  joy,  peace,  long  suffering,  gentleness,  good- 
ness, faith,  meekness,  temperance." 

The  Dispensation  of  the  Spirit  may  be  said  to  be 
now  fairly  established,  and  it  is  rapidly  spreading 
through  the  world.  The  Spirit  writes  the  law  of  God 
in  the  hearts  of  His  children,  and  every  renewed  and 
sanctified  heart,  is  said  to  be  a  "temple  ol  tlie  Holy 
Ghost."  That  which  the  prophets  foretold  has  come 
to  pass.  A  spiritual  empire,  the  rise  of  which  the 
philosophers  and  sages  of  antiquity  could  not  have 
foreseen,  as  they  could  have  formed  no  conception  of 
such  a  kingdom,  and  as  there  were  no  natural  causes 
in  operation  to  bring  it  into  existence — such  a  spiritual 
empire  is  now  filling  the  earth,  the  subjects  of  which 
claiiu  to  have  the  law  written  in  their  hearts — and  to 
ha\e  "a  new  heart" — "a  heart  of  ilesh  " — and  to  have 
"  the  Spirit  in  their  hearts" — and  to  have  been  "born 
of  the  Spirit" — and  to  be  "led  by  the  Spirit."  These 
scriptural  phrases  are  now  become  the  spoken  dialect 
of  the  children  of  God. 

The  scene  that  was  witnessed  at  Jerusalem  on  the 


THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM    OF    CHRIST.  169 

day  of  Pentecost,  has  been  often  reproduced,  at  least, 
in  the  similarity  of  its  effects,  if  not  in  power,  thus 
attesting  that  the  agencies  and  means  ordained  for 
the  conversion  of  the  world,  are  adequate  to  the  end. 
One  of  the  most  extensive  and  powerful  revivals  in 
modern  times,  perhaps,  since  the  great  awakening-  in 
Germany,  in  the  days  of  Luther,  was  that  which  began 
in  Northampton,  in  1735,  and  spread  in  a  short  time 
through  the  New  England  States  and  New  Jersey, 
Dr.  Jonathan  Edwards,  In  describing  the  effects  of 
that  revival  on  his  own  people,  wrote: 

"The  town  seemed  to  be  full  of  the  presence  of 
God  ;  it  never  was  so  full  of  love,  nor  so  full  of  joy, 
and  yet  so  full  of  distress  as  it  was  then.  There  were 
remarkable  tokens  of  God's  presence  in  almost  every 
house.  It  was  a  time  of  joy  in  families  on  account  of 
salvation  being  brought  to  them  ;  parents  rejoicing 
over  their  children  as  new-born,  and  husbands  over 
wives,  and  wives  over  husbands.  The  goings  of  God 
v/ere  seen  in  His  sanctuary.  God's  day  was  a  delight, 
and  His  tabernacles  were  amiable.  Our  public  as- 
semblies w^ere  then  beautiful ;  the  congregation  was 
alive  In  God's  service  ;  every  one  earnestly  intent  on 
the  public  worship  ;  every  hearer  eager  to  drink  in  the 
words  of  the  minister,  as  they  came  from  his  mouth ; 
the  assembly  in  general  were  from  time  to  time  in 
tears,  while  the  word  was  preached  ;  some  weeping 
with  sorrow  and  distress  ;  others  with  joy  and  love  ; 
others  with  pity  and  concern  for  the  souls  of  their 
neighbors." 

As  to  the  fruits  of  this  work  of  the  Spirit,  he  fur- 
ther testified : 

"Now,  instead  of  meetings  at  taverns  and  drinking 


170  MOSES    AND    Tilt:    PHILOSOPHERS. 

houses,  and  meetings  of  young  people  in  frolics  and 
vain  company,  the  country  is  full  of  meetings  of  all 
sorts  and  ages  of  persons,  young  and  old;  men, 
women,  and  children,  to  read,  and  pray,  and  sing 
praises;  and  to  converse  of  the  things  of  God  and 
another  world.  Instead  of  vain  mirth  among  young 
people,  there  is  now  either  mourning  under  a  sense 
of  the  guilt  of  sin,  or  holy  rejoicing  in  Christ  Jesus  ; 
and  instead  of  their  lewd  songs,  are  now  to  be  heard 
from  them,  songs  of  praise  to  God,  and  the  Lamb  that 
was  slain  to  redeem  them  by  His  blood.  And  there 
has  been  this  alteration  abiding  in  multitudes  all  over 
the  land,  for  a  year  and  a  half,  without  any  appearance 
of  a  disposition   to  return   to  former  vice  and  vanity." 

This  testimony  of  Jonathan  Edwards  will  have 
weight  with  all  who  respect  true  intellectual  and 
moral  worth.  It  has  been  said  by  some  men  of 
learning,  and  who  were  very  sound  thinkers,  that 
America  has  never  produced  a  man  who  was,  intel- 
lectually, the  superior  of  Mr.  Edwards.  The  Rev. 
Robert  Hall,  one  of  England's  greatest  divines,  said 
of  him,  that  he  was  "the  greatest  of  the  sons  of 
men." 

There  was  a  very  extended  outpouring  of  the  Spirit 
to  which  we  may  allude,  in  this  connection,  that  com- 
menced about  the  year  1801,  and  prevailed  for  several 
years,  through  what  were  then  the  Western  States. 
It  was  a  glorious  event  in  the  history  of  these  States. 
The  wave  of  infidelity  that  had  come  over  from  Eng- 
land and  France,  and  was  beginning  to  spread  over  the 
country  like  a  deatlly  pestilence,  was  effectually  stayed 
by  that  revival ;  and  to  this  day  we  see  the  good  ef- 
fects  tluireot.       Never,   perhaps,   was   there   so   great 


THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM    OF    CHRIST,  I7I 

and  visible  a  change  wrought  in  so  short  a  time,  and 
in  so  large  an  extent  of  country.  There  are  many  of 
the  descendants  of  those  early  settlers,  who  still  re- 
member, and  can  tell  much  about  it.  The  o-eneral 
effect  w^as  that  theoretical  and  speculative  infidelity 
was  well  nigh  swept  out  of  these  Western  States. 
For  half  a  century  after,  it  was  nearly  impossible  to 
find  a  professed  infidel  in  any  of  these  States,  except 
he  was  one  who  had  been  imported  from  the  East,  or 
from  the  old  \yorld.  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  lifted  up 
a  standard  against  the  enemy,  for  the  Lord  had  a  mis- 
sion for  these  Western  States, 

In  regard  to  the  nature  of  the  radical  change, 
wrought  by  the  Spirit  in  the  hearts  and  the  outer 
lives  of  men,  the  blessed  reality  is  not  denied  even  by 
rationalists  themselves.  The  nature  of  this  change  is 
expressed  in  a  single  text — "and  such  were  some  of 
you  " — "fornicators,  idolaters,  adulterers,  thieves,  cov- 
etous, drunkards,  revellers,  extortioners,"  etc, — "but 
ye  are  washed,  but  ye  are  sanctified,  but  ye  are  justi- 
fied in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit 
of  our  God," 

These  words  indicate  a  total  renewal  in  heart  and 
life.  The  religion  of  Jesus  has  a  transforming  power. 
It  makes  those  who  were  impure,  licentious,  and  im- 
moral in  their  lives,  pure,  and  moral,  and  good.  And 
this  is  the  system  which  our  fallen  humanity  needs — a 
system  that  can  raise  them  up  from  the  dust,  and  the 
deep  degradation  of  ages. 

The  transforming  power  of  Christianity  may  be 
more  marked  and  visible  in  some  conversions  than  in 
others,  but  the  radical   nature  of  the  change  wrought 


172  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

is  the  same  in  every  case.  Let  us  take  an  instance 
of  conversion  of  more  recent  date  than  that  of  Paul 
— the  conversion  of  one  who  was  a  perfect  contrast  to 
Paul,  in  all  the  main  features  and  circumstances  of  his 
life.  The  account  is  taken  from  Dr.  Walker's  Philos- 
ophy of  the  Plan  of  Salvation.  The  case  is  that  of 
an  old  man,  who  was  converted  a  few  years  ago — an 
atheist: 

"  His  whole  appearance  was  that  of  a  decrepit,  dis- 
consolate old  man.  He  haci  become  misanthropic  in 
his  feelings,  regarding  mankind  in  the  light  of  a  family 
of  sharks,  preying  upon  one  another  ;  and  his  own 
dut)'  in  such  a  state  of  things  he  supposed  to  be,  to 
wrest  from  the  grasp  of  others  as  much  as  he  could. 
He  usf.'d  profane  language  ;  opposed  the  temperance 
reformation,  and  looked  with  the  deepest  hatred  on 
the  ministers  of  religion.  His  social  affections  seemed 
to  be  withered  ;  and  his  body,  sympathizing,  was  dis- 
torted with  rheumatic  pains.  But  this  man  was  brought 
under  the  power  of  religion,  and  from  being  an  atheist, 
he  became  the  most  implicit  and  childlike  believer. 
He  seemed  like  a  being  who  had  waked  u])  in  an- 
other world,  the  sensations  of  which  were  all  new  to 
him. 

"  One  of  the  first  things  this  oUl  man  did  after 
his  conversion,  was  to  love  in  a  practical  way  his  worst 
enemy.  There  was  a  man  in  the  village  who  had,  as 
he  supposed,  dealt  treacherously  with  him  in  some 
mon(-'y  transactions  which  had  occurred  between  them. 
When  converted,  he  sought  his  old  enemy,  asked  his 
forgiveness,  and  endeavored  to  benefit  him  by  bringing 
him  under  the  inlluence  of  the  Gospel. 

"After  conversion,  he  became  benevolent,  havincr 
given  more,  in  a  single  year,  with  the  design  of  bene- 
fiting his  fellow-men,  than  he  had  in  all  his  life  before. 


THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM    OF    CHRIST.  1/3 

His  affections  received  new  life.  Said  he  to  a  friend: 
'  One  part  of  the  Scriptures  I  feel  to  be  true — that 
which  says,  "  I  will  take  away  the  stony  heart  out  of 
your  flesh,  and  will  give  you  a  heart  of  flesh."  Once, 
I  seemed  to  have  no  feeling;  now,  thank  God,  I  can 
feel.  I  have  buried  two  wives  and  six  children — but 
I  never  shed  a  tear,  I  felt  hard  and  unhappy  ;  now 
my  tears  flow  at  the  recollection  of  these  things.' 
And  the  tears  moistened  the  olci  man's  cheeks  as  he 
spoke.  He  was  often  seen  to  weep.  Previously  to 
his  conversion  he  had  not  wept  since  the  age  of  man- 
hood. An  exhibition  of  the  love  of  Christ  would  at 
any  time  move  his  feelings  with  gratitude  and  love, 
until  the  tears  filled  his  eyes. 

"  There  was  a  corresponding  change  in  his  life,  as, 
after  his  conversion,  he  ceased  not  to  do  good  as  he 
had  opportunity.  He  made  out  a  list  of  his  old  asso- 
ciates, then  living  within  his  reach,  for  whose  conver- 
sion he  determined  to  labor  as  he  had  opportunity, 
and  to  pray  daily.  There  were  one  hundred  and  six- 
teen names  on  the  list,  among  whom  were  sceptics, 
drunkards,  and  other  individuals,  as  little  likely  to  be 
influenced  by  Christian  effort  as  any  men  in  the  region. 
Within  two  years  of  the  period  of  his  own  conversion, 
one  hundred  of  these  individuals  had  made  a  profes- 
sion of  religion. 

"  The  effect  on  his  happiness  was  no  less  remark- 
able. Once,  in  a  social  meeting  where  he  worshipped, 
he  made  the  remark:  'I  have  rejoiced  but  once  since 
I  trusted  in  Christ;  that  has  been  all  the  time.'  His 
whole  physical  system,  as  soon  as  his  mental  nature 
had  undergone  a  change,  by  sympathy,  felt  the  benign 
influence.  His  countenance  assumed  a  milder  and 
more  intelligent  aspect.  He  became  more  tidy  in  his 
appearance,  and  his  thousand  pains,  in  a  measure,  left 
him.  In  his  case  there  seemed  to  be  a  renovation  of 
both  soul  and  body." 


174  MOSES   AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

TIk'  world  stood  In  need  of  somethinof  that  could 
cure  the  leprosy  of  sin,  for  that  Is  the  disease  of 
humanity.     God  has  provided  this  remedy. 

Here  then,  we  have  the  secret  of  the  efficacy  and 
the  divine  power  that  attends  the  preaching-  of  the 
Gospel.  It  is  in  the  actual  presence,  and  active 
agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  promised  by  Jesus,  pre- 
dicted under  the  Old  Testament  dispensation,  verified 
on  the  day  of  Pentecost  when  the  Gospel  dispensation 
was  lirst  fully  revealed,  and  now  attending  and  crown- 
ing the  ministrations  of  all  the  servants  of  Jesus 
everywhere,  and  in  all  ages.  We  call  it  a  super- 
natural agency.  It  certainly  does  not  come  under 
natural  law,  and,  evidently,  is  something  quite  beyond 
the  comprehension  of  modern  rationalists. 

I  will  conclude  this  chapter  with  some  words  in 
reference  to  the  subjects  of  the  mediatorial  king- 
dom, and,  also,  the  extent  and  the  duration  of  that 
kinordom. 

I.  And  the  first  word  is,  the  Mediatorial  kingdom 
is  not  one  that  is  bounded  by  any  geographical  lines, 
or  sectarian  and  denominational  limits.  It  is  an  indi- 
cation of  a  very  carnal  state  of  the  affections,  to  assert, 
that  the  Spiritual  empire  of  Jesus  can  be  measured 
and  circumscribed  by  topographical  lines,  and  by 
ecclesiastical  definitions.  The  Jews  once  believed 
that  they  constituted  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  that 
the  entire  Gentile  world  were  excluded  from  the  favor 
and  mercy  of  heaven.  But  in  the  light  of  the  pres- 
ent centuries,  they  have,  doubtless,  discovered  that 
this  lono^-cherished  notion  was  a  mistake.  There  are 
several   ecclesiastical   bodies   now  in   the  world,  who 


THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM    OF    CHRIST.  1/5 

arrogate  to  themselves  the  pecuHar  distinction  of  being 
exclusively  the  church  of  Jesus,  or  the  spiritual  king- 
dom of  the  Messiah.  But  they  are  equally  mistaken, 
as  were  the  Jews,  in  these  pretensions.  And  all  those 
who  make  these  pretensions  afford  evidence  that  they 
are  ignorant,  as  to  the  nature  of  the  essential  prin- 
ciples that  belong  to  'Christ's  kingdom. 

The  Mediatorial  kingdom  is  the  Church,  and  the 
Church  is  the  Mediatorial  kingdom.  The  Lord  Jesus 
has  but  one  church  on  earth,  or  in  creation.  There 
is  but  one  church  in  all  the  universe  of  God.  It  is 
called  "the  general  Assembly,  the  Church  of  the  First- 
born, which  are  written  in  heaven."  There  may  be 
divisions  and  branches  of  the  church,  just  as  the  an- 
cient Israel  was  composed  of  twelve  tribes,  who  were 
yet  one  Israel,  though  they  marched  after  so  many 
different  banners.  The  names  written  in  heaven,  are 
the  names  of  the  subjects  of  redemption — the  subjects 
of  grace — and  these  constitute  "the  general  Assembly, 
and  Church  of  the  First-born."  This  number  in- 
cludes all  who  are  saved  by  "  the  blood  of  the  Lamb, 
slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world."  * 

If  this  definition  of  the  spiritual  kingdom  is  founded 
in  truth,  it  makes  Abel  the  first  member  of  the  church, 
as  he  was  the  first  who  was  saved  by  Grace,  and, 
therefore,  the  first  whose  name  was  "  written  in 
heaven."  If  saved  at  all,  he  must  have  been  saved 
by  grace,  and  through  the  blood  of  Christ,  The  blood 
of  the  victims  which  he  offered,  was  typical  of  the 
great  sacrifice  for  sin,  and  through  the  types,  his  faith 

*  See  Supplement. 


1/6  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

looked  forward,  and  on,  to  the  Lamb  of  God  who 
taketli  away  the  sin  of  the  world. 

The  first  essential  characteristic  of  the  heirs  of  sal- 
vation is,  that  they  be  sinners  ;  and  the  second  is,  that 
they  be  saved  through  the  blood  of  Christ.  None 
can  be  in  the  Mediatorial  kingdom,  except  they  be 
in  possession  of  these  two  marks.  Of  course,  the  sin- 
less angels  cannot  be  the  subjects  of  this  Mediatorial 
kingdom.  They  have  no  need  of  a  Saviour.  Neither 
can  any  who  reject  Christ,  and  refuse  to  believe  in 
Him  as  the  Lamb  of  God,  belong  to  His  Mediatorial 
kino-dom. 

The  tender  infant,  dying  in  infancy,  and  saved 
through  the  blood  of  Christ,  belongs  to  His  Media- 
torial kingdom.  But  if  it  were  sinless,  as  some  say, 
it  could  not  need  a  Saviour,  nor  belong  to  the  king- 
dom of  grace,  no  more  than  Gabriel,  or  any  of  the 
sinless  ancrels  can  belonsf  to  that  kincjdom.     That  in- 

o  o  o 

fants,  dying  in  infancy,  have  a  sinful  nature,  and  are 
therefore  cleansed  and  saved  by  the  blood  of  Christ, 
we  believe  implicitly,  both  on  the  positive  declarations 
of  Scripture,  and  from  the  fact  that  they  are  subject  to 
the  pains  and  penalty  of  death,  which  is  the  wages  of 
sin. 

Infants  do  not  believe,  and  they  are  not  required 
to  believe  as  a  condition  to  their  having  an  interest 
in  Christ,  and  a  place  in  His  spiritual  kingdom.  We 
believe  that  blessed  word  that  fell  from  Jesus'  lips, 
when  He  took  up  litde  children  in  His  arms  and 
blessed  them,  saying :  "  Suffer  little  children  to  come 
to  me,  and  forbid  them  not ;  for  of  such  is  the  king- 
dom of  heaven."     It  is  just  as  easy  to  sanctify  their 


THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM    OF    CHRIST.  I// 

hearts  and  wash  them  from  sin,  without  faith,  as  to 
sanctify  and  wash  adult  sinners  through  faith,  and  thus 
save  them  through  the  blood  of  Christ.  There  may 
be  a  mystery  connected  with  this  subject,  but  that  is 
nothintr — the  whole  scheme  of  salvation  is  a  elorious 
mystery.  And  let  us  unite  in  the  exclamation : 
"Great  and  marvellous  are  thy  works,  Lord  God  Al- 
mighty ;  just  and  true  are  thy  ways,  thou  King  of 
saints !  " 

II.  As  to  the  duration  and  the  extent  of  the  Media- 
torial kingdom,  we  may  say,  in  the  light  of  what  has 
already  been  said,  that  it  reaches  from  the  redemption 
of  Abel,  the  first  martyr,  to  the  ingathering  of  the  last 
one  of  God's  '"Elect"  at  the  winding  up  of  the  affairs 
of  this  world.  For  this  world  stands,  and  only  stands, 
till  this  purpose  shall  be  accomplished.  He  is  making 
up  his  jewels — the  angels  are  gathering  together  His 
Elect — and  when  they  shall  all  be  gathered,  the  end 
will  come — the  world  and  the  works  that  are  therein 
shall  be  burned  up — the  scaffolding  used  in  the  build- 
ing of  the  temple  will  be  thrown  down,  and  then  the 
glorious  structure  of  Divine  Grace,  which  God  has 
been  erecting  through  the  ages,  will  appear  in  all  its 
beauty  and  glory. 

After  the  expiration  of  this  present  dispensation  at 
the  end  of  the  world,  Jesus  is  still  to  be  the  Head  of 
His  church,  and  to  reisfn  as  the  Kingr  of  saints,  but 
the  Mediatorial  kingdom  is  to  be  merged  into  the 
absolute  kingdom,  to  form,  as  it  were,  one  of  the  prov- 
inces of  His  universal  dominion.  For  He  is  the  Sov- 
ereig-n  of  all  worlds,  and  He  is  to  reii^n  as  "  Kingf  of 
kings,  and  Lord  of  lords."     The  thrones,  the  princi- 


178  MOSES    AND    TIIF-:    PHILOSOPHERS. 

palities,  and  the  powc^rs  in  heavenly  places  are  to  be 
subject  unto  Him. 

All  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  to  have  an  end. 
For  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  is  to  succeed,  and  supersede 
them  all.  It  is  to  be  universal  in  its  extent,  and  to 
continue  as  long  as  the  earth  shall  endure.  Of 
course,  there  will  be  political  organizations  and  civil 
LTOvernments,  as  lon<x  as  the  world  shall  exist.  But 
there  will  be  no  despotisms  on  earth.  Every  nation 
will  have  its  Congress,  or  Parliament,  elected  by  the 
people,  to  make  laws.  And  the  world  will  have  a 
CouLrress.  There  will  be  a  Cono-ress  of  nations — and 
this  will  be  the  bond  of  union  to  hold  the  nations  to- 
gether, in  amity  and  peace.  Then,  there  will  be  no 
more  horrible  discords  nor  bloody  strifes  of  arms. 
But  all  differences  and  disputes  will  be  settled  by  the 
arbitration  of  this  universal  Congress.  "Nation  shall 
not  lift  up  sword  against  nation,  neither  shall  they 
learn  war  any  more;  but  they  shall  beat  their  swords 
into  ploughshares,  and  their  spears  into  pruning 
liooks."  Then,  there  will  be  but  one  King — King 
Jesus. 

"All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  Name, 
Let  an<;els  prostrate  fall; 
Bring  forth  the  royal  diadem, 
And  crown  Him  Lord  of  all ! 

"  Let  every  kindred,  every  tribe. 
On  this  terrestrial  ball  ; 
To  Him  all  majesty  ascribe, 
And  crown  Him  Lord  of  all." 

SUPPLEMENT. 
There  are  those  who  believe  that  the  kinedom  of 


THE   MEDIATORIAL   KINGDOM    OF   CHRIST.  I79 

Christ  is  not  yet  established  in  the  world  ;  that  He 
went  away  in  order  to  receive  a  kingdom,  and  that 
He  will  return  and  set  up  that  kingdom,  at  His  second 
Coming  in  glory.  Those  who  entertain  this  view,  are 
known  as  Second  Adventists,  or  Pre-millennarians. 
The  kingdom  they  look  for,  is  to  be  a  material  and 
glorious  kingdom  in  this  world.  The  belief  is  not 
essentially  different  from  the  ancient  belief  of  the 
lews,  in  res^ard  to  the  visible  o-loriesof  Messiah's  kincr- 
dom.  In  the  belief  of  both,  there  is  to  be  a  glorious 
material  empire,  and  a  personal  reign  of  the  Messiah 
on  a  material  throne  at  Jerusalem.  The  Jews  believe 
that  this  reign  of  the  Messiah  will  be  in  the  flesh; 
Adventists  believe  that  it  will  be  in  the  resurrection 
state  ;  this  is  the  only  essential  difference  between  the 
two  beliefs.  They  both  alike  discard  the  idea  of  a 
spiritual  reign. 

Second  Adventists  are  not  very  harmonious  In  their 
views.  They  are  united,  however,  in  the  belief  that 
the  second  personal  appearing  of  Christ  on  His 
great  white  throne,  will  precede  the  Millennial  morn, 
and  will  be  the  event  that  ushers  In  the  dawnini^  of 
that  glorious  age,  for  which  they  are  so  anxiously 
praying.  They  believe  that  the  dead  saints  will  be 
raised  from  their  graves  at  the  coming  of  Christ,  and 
will  reign  in  person  with  Him  on  the  earth,  during  the 
Millennial  period.  They  believe  that  until  that  period, 
their  souls  rest  in  the  grave  with  their  bodies,  In  a 
state  of  unconsciousness ;  or  else,  that  durlne  the  in- 
terval,  they  are  In  a  separate  state,  and  do  not  go  to 
heaven  where  Christ  Is.  They  are  divided  among 
themselves  on  this  question;  some  believing  In  a  state 


iSo  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

of  unconscious  sleep  in   the  grave,  and  others  in   the 
existence  of  an  intermediate  state. 

As  to  the  wicked,  they  do  not  beHeve  that  a  single 
soul  has  gone  to  hell.  Their  hell  is  the  grave.  They 
are  all  in  the  graves,  from  which  they  will  be  raised 
at  the  expiration  of  the  thousand  years.  Then  they 
will  be  judged  in  the  b(5dy,  according  to  the  deeds, 
done  in  their  bodies,  after  which  they  will  be  con-; 
sumed  in  the  fires  of  the  last  day — utterly  consumed 
and  annihilated.  That  will  be  the  end  of  them.  Ad- 
ventists  do  not  believe  in  a  punishment  that  is  ''cver- 
lastingr  It  is  not  certain  that  Adventists  believe 
in  the  existence  of  souls  at  all.  The  Scriptures  that 
speak  of  the  soul — and  of  the  spirit  that  returns  to 
God  who  gave  it,  they  explain  by  saying,  that,  they 
refer  to  the  breath  of  the  body.  The  spirit  is  the 
breaf/i,  or  /he  air  that  heaves  our  lungs. 

When  Adventists  pray  the  Lord's  prayer,  "thy 
kingdom  come,"  they  mean  that  the  end  of  the 
present  dispensation  may  come — the  gospel  kingdom, 
which  is  now  in  existence.  They  pray  that  it  may 
terminate,  and  that  Jesus  may  come  in  person,  to  in- 
augurate the  new  and  glorious  kingdom  which  He  is 
to  set  up.  They  virtually  pray  that  the  spiritual  king- 
dom may  come  to  an  end — that  the  gospel  may  be 
preached  no  more ;  that  there  may  be  no  more  con- 
verts of  grace ;  no  more  rejoicing  in  heaven,  over 
sinners  that  repent. 

Doubtless,  there  are  some  good  and  sincere  Chris- 
tians among  Second  Adventists.  But  their  system  of 
belief  is  full  of  contradictions,  and  the  views  of  many 
are  as  carnal  and  gross  as  were  those  of  the  blinded 
Jews,  which  caused  them  to  reject  the  Messiah. 


THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM    OF    CHRIST.  l8l 

As  to  the  nature  of  Christ's  kingdom,  as  being  a 
kingdom  already  set  up,  and  not  yet  future,  I  desire, 
in  this  supplement,  to  make  the  matter  plain,  from  the 
very  words  of  Christ  Himself.  He  said  to  His  im- 
mediate followers : 

"Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  there  be  some  standing 
here  which  shall  not  taste  of  death,  till  they  see  the 
Son  of  Man  cominLT  in  His  kin<^dom." 

This  is  the  way  in  which  St.  Matthew  gives  the 
promise  of  Jesus.  Six  days  after.  He  was  transfig- 
ured, and  showed  Himself  in  the  glory  of  His  king- 
dom to  three  of  those  disciples  in  the  Holy  Mount. 
Peter  was  one  of  those  favored  three,  and,  speaking 
of  that  event  many  years  after,  in  one  of  his  epistles, 
he  says: 

"For  we  have  not  follow^ed  cunningly  devised  fables, 
when  we  made  known  unto  you  the  power  and  coming 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  but  were  eye-witnesses  of 
His  majesty.  For  He  received  from  God  the  Father 
honor  and  glory,  when  there  came  such  a  voice  to 
Him  from  the  excellent  glory :  This  is  my  beloved 
Son  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased.  And  this  voice 
which  came  from  heaven  we  heard,  when  we  were 
with  Him  in  the  Holy  Mount." 

Here  it  is  certain,  that  Peter  refers  directly  to  that 
remarkable  event,  the  transfiguration  in  the  Mount. 
He  says  that  they  heard  the  voice  from  the  most  ex- 
cellent glory,  saying,  "  This  is  my  beloved  Son."  He 
says  that  they  were  "eye-witnesses  of  His  majesty" — 
"of  the  power  and  the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ "  "  when  they  were  with  Him  in  the  Holy 
Mount." 


l82  MOSES    AND    THE    I'll  ILOSOPHEKS. 

But  Aclventists  say,  that  promise  of  His  coming-  in 
His  kingdom,  which  some  of  them  who  were  then 
Standing  there  were  to  witness  before  they  should  taste 
of  death,  has  never  yet  been  fulfilled,  though  they  have 
all  been  dead  for  centuries.  Therefore  they  contra- 
dict the  direct  testimony  of  Ptter,  who  says,  that  they 
were  eye-witnesses  of  His  majesty,  of  His  power,  and 
of  His  coming,  when  they  were  widi  Him  in  " ///^  Holy 
3Iouiiiy      This  is  conclusive. 

But  two  other  Evangelists  record  the  same  event, 
in  almost  the  same  words  as  Matthew.     Mark  says : 

"And  jcsus  said  unto  them,  Verily,  I  say  unto  you, 
that  there  be  some  of  them  that  stand  here,  which 
shall  not  taste  of  deadi  till  they  have  seen  the  kingdom 
of  God  come  with  power." 

Was  this  promise  fulfilled  ?  It  was  six  days  after. 
For  the  record  goes  on  to  say: 

"And  after  six  days,  Jesus  taketh  with  Him  Peter, 
and  James,  and  John,  and  leadeth  them  up  into  a  high 
mountain  apart  by  themselves;  and  He  was  trans- 
figured before  them."     Luke  says  : 

"  But  I  tell  you  of  a  truth,  there  be  some  standing 
here,  who  shall  not  taste  of  death  till  they  see  the 
kingdom  of  God."  And  then  he  adds :  "About  an 
eight  days  after  these  sayings,  He  took  Peter,  and 
John,  and  James,  and  went  up  into  a  mountain  to 
pray.  And  as  He  prayed,  the  fashion  of  His  coun- 
tenance was  altered,  and  His  raiment  was  white  and 
glistering.  And  behold,  there  talked  with  Him  two 
men,  which  were  Moses  and  Klias,  who  appeared  in 


THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM    OF   CHRIST.  183 

glory,  and  spake  of  His  decease  which  He  should  ac- 
complish at  Jerusalem,"  etc. 

Now  if  this  emphatic  promise,  so  minutely  recorded 
by  the  three  Evangelists,  that  some  of  them  should 
not  taste  of  death  till  they  had  "  seen  the  kingdom  of 
God,"  as  Luke  says  ;  or  till  they  had  seen  "  the  king- 
dom of  God  come  with  power,"  as  Mark  expresses 
it;  or  till  they  had  seen  "the  Son  of  Man  coming  in 
His  kingdom,"  as  Matthew  says  ; — if  this  promise  was 
not  veritied  to  the  three  disciples  in  the  Holy  Mount, 
as  Peter  says  it  was,  it  becomes  Adventists  to  explain, 
why  all  the  apostles  died  without  seeing  the  coming 
of  that  kingdom.  They  ought  further  to  explain,  why 
these  special  promises  which  have  been  quoted,  were 
not  mentioned,  nor  even  referred  to  by  learned  Ad- 
ventists, in  perhaps  the  largest  conference  ever  held 
by  them  two  or  three  years  ago,  in  New  York  city. 
Some  very  elaborate  papers  were  read  in  that  confer- 
ence, and  they  quoted  one  hundred  different  texts,  all 
of  which  they  supposed  to  favor  their  views  of  the 
personal  coming,  and  the  personal  reign  of  Christ,  on 
the  earth.  But  they  studiously  omitted  those  three 
passages  which  have  been  given  above,  from  Matthew, 
Mark,  and  Luke.  It  would  overturn  all  their  calcula- 
tions to  say,  that,  Jesus  manifested  Himself  in  the 
glory  of  His  kingdom,  to  any  of  the  apostles  in  their 
lifetime,  since,  as  they  say,  that  kingdom  has  never 
yet  been  set  up.  It  was  the  intention  of  Jesus  to  af- 
ford to  His  disciples,  a  sensible  and  an  ocular  view  of 
the  nature  and  glory  of  His  kingdom.  It  was  for  this 
purpose  He  appeared  in  the  Mount,  in  His  glorified 
form — the  glorious  body  which  is  now  on  the  throne, 


184  MOSES    AND    THE    rillLOSOPIIEKS. 

with  two  of  the  glorified  subjects  of  His  kingdom — 
Moses  and  Elias,  in  their  robes  of  glory.  This  mani- 
festation of  His  glory  was  made  to  three  chosen  dis- 
ciples, who  were  to  be  witnesses  thereof,  to  all  His 
followers  to  the  end  of  time.  That  is  the  reason,  it 
has  been  so  carefidly  recorded  by  three  of  the  Evan- 
gelists, and  also  by  Peter,  one  of  the  three  witnesses, 
in  his  Epistles,  lujur  things  are  made  very  clear  by 
the  fact  of  the  Transfiguration,  viz.: 

1.  That  tlie  departed  saints  belong  to  the  kingdom 
of  Christ.  The  design  of  the  transfiguration  was  to 
give  the  disciples,  a  visible  »and  sensible  view  of  His 
kingdom. 

2.  The  departed  saints  are  not  dead.  Moses  and 
Elias  appeared  alive  in  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration. 
But  we  must  believe  that  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob, 
and  Paul,  and  Daniel,  and  all  tlie  departed  saints  are 
just  as  much  alive  in  the  kin^^dom  of  ijlorv,  as  Moses 
and  Elias. 

3.  That  departed  saints  take  an  equal  interest  in 
the  affairs  of  Christ's  kingdom,  as  the  saints  on  earth. 
Moses  and  Elias  were  conversing  with  Christ,  about 
the  decease  which  He  was  to  accomplish  at  Jerusalem. 
On  that  decease  the  salvation  of  the  world  depended, 
and  they  must  have  known  that  He  had  come  into  the 
world  for  that  ver)'  purpose,  to  work  out  salvation  by 
His  death. 

4.  That  the  Church  on  earth,  and  the  Church  In 
glory  are  one  Church — and  one  kingdom:  called  the 
general  assembly,  and  Church  of  the  First-born  in 
heaven.  Ib^rewere  Moses,  and  Elias,  Peter,  James, 
and  John,  all  associated  together  with  the  Lord  In  the 


THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM    OF    CHRIST.  1 85 

Mount — all  subjects  of  the  same  kingdom — all  equally 
interested  in  that  salvation  which  He  was  to  accom- 
plish at  Jerusalem. 

Elias  had  been  translated.  He  had  never  tasted  of 
death,  and  he  might  have  appeared  alive  in  the  Mount. 
But  Moses  had  died,  and  been  buried  many  hundred 
years  before.  And  yet  he  appeared  in  as  glorious  a 
form  as  Elias.  There  was  no  difference  in  the  visible 
glory  of  the  two.  It  is  therefore  true,  as  the  apostle 
says,  that  there  is  a  glorious  body,  prepared  for  every 
departed  soul  at  their  decease,  so  that  they  are  not 
found  naked  in  the  world  of  spirits;  "for  we  know 
that  if  our  earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle " — the 
body — "were  dissolved,  we  have  a  building  of  God,  a 
house  not  made  with  hands.  For  in  this" — the  body 
— "  we  groan  earnesdy  desiring  to  be  clothed  upon 
with  our  house  which  is  from  heaven  ;  if  so  be  that 
beinor  clothed  we  shall  not  be  found  naked."  He  is 
speaking  of  the  souls — they  have  new  and  spiritual 
bodies,  and  they  are  not  found  naked.  It  was  such  a 
body  that  Moses  appeared  in,  on  the  Mount.  Elias 
appeared  in  his  transfigured  body  which  had  never 
seen  corruption.  Christ  appeared  in  His  transfigured 
body.  But  Moses  appeared  in  glory  also,  with  the 
spiritual  body  prepared  for  him,  though  his  natural 
body  had  not  been  raised  from  the  dead,  and  will  not 
be  till  the  final  resurrection.  And  if  Moses  can  ap- 
pear so  glorious  in  his  new  and  spiritual  body,  while 
his  natural  body  still  slumbers  in  the  grave,  waiting 
the  call  of  Gabriel's  trump,  this  teaches,  and  it  is  just 
w^hat  Jesus  intended  to  teach  by  the  circumstance  of 
the   transfiguration,  that  all   the   saints  shall   be  with 


1 86  MOSES    AND    Till-:    PHILOSOPHERS. 


Him  ill  <'"lor\-,  in  oflorious  forms,  immediately  at  their 
decease,  even  though  their  bodies  should  sleep  for 
ages  in  the  grave.  This  is  what  we  must  believe, 
unless  we  consider  the  glorious  vision  in  the  Holy 
Mount  as  nothing  more  than  an  optical  illusion,  by 
which  Christ  designed  to  impose  on  the  senses  of  the 
three  disciples,  and  make  them  believe  that  Moses 
and  Elias  were  alive,  when  they  were  not;  which  it  is 
not  supposed  that  even  the  most  confirmed  Adventist 
would  assert. 

There  is  a  clear  light  thrown  on  this  whole  subject, 
by  the  words  of  Christ  addressed  to  the  penitent  on 
the  cross — "  To-day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  Para- 
dise." Adventists  and  some  others  do  not  believe 
that  this  word,  ''Paradise,''  means  heaven.  It  occurs 
but  three  times  in  the  New  Testament.  The  second 
passage  where  it  is  used  is  2  Cor.  xii.  4,  where  Paul 
says,  that  he  was  caught  up  to  the  third  heaven,  which 
he  calls  Paradise  ;  "  I  knew  such  a  man,  whether  in  the 
body  or  out  of  the  body,  I  cannot  tell ;  God  knoweth; 
how  that  he  was  caught  up  into  Paradise,  and  heard 
unspeakable  words  which  it  is  not  lawful  for -a  man  to 
utter."  The  last  time  the  word  is  found,  is  in  Reve- 
lation ii.  7:  "To  him  that  overconu'th  will  I  give  to 
eat  of  the  tree  of  life,  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the 
Paradise  of  God." 

That  teaches  that  the  tree  of  life  flourishes  in.  the 
middle  of  the  Paradise  of  God.  But  turning  tt)  the 
last  chajiter  of  Revelation,  we  find  the  tree  ot  liie 
growing  on  either  side  of  the  river  of  li/e,  that  pro- 
ceedeth  out  of  the  throne  of  God,  and  that  must  be 
Heaven.     "And  He  showed  me  a  pure  river  of  water 


THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM    OF    CHRIST.  iS/ 

of  life,  clear  as  crystal,  proceeding  out  of  the  throne 
of  God  and  of  the  Lamb.  In  the  midst  of  the  street 
of  it,  and  on  either  side  of  the  river,  was  there  the  tree 
of  life,  which  bare  twelve  manner  of  fruits."  The  de- 
finite location  of  the  tree  of  life  in  the  midst  of  Para- 
dise, or  where  the  throne  of  God  is,  oucrht  to  •  settle, 
definitely  and  finally,  the  question  as  to  the  meaning 
of  the  word  Paradise.  Such  a  question  never  could 
have  been  raised  at  all,  if  the  church  called  "  Mother 
of  harlots  "  had  not  wanted  to  start  a  lucrative  trade 
In  the  sale  of  indulgences,  by  praying  souls  out  of  pur- 
gatory. Purgatory  Is  a  Romish  term.  There  is  nothing 
that  answers  to  it  in  the  Bible.  And  for  the  want  of 
such  a  term,  they  have  converted  Paradise  Into  a  pur- 
gatory. God  will  judge  all  those  who  thus  pervert 
the  truth. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

TJie   Unfidjillcd  Prophecies. 

A  Millennial  period — Binding  of  Satan — Prophetic  utterances  of  Isaiah — Reve- 
lation XX. — The  last  battle  on  earth — The  world's  Sabbath  of  Rest — It  is  yet 
future — Must  come  before  the  end  of  the  world — Two  great  events  to  precede 

The  Jews  to  be  gathered — Dispersion  and   restoration  alike  fcretold — Dr. 

Niccoll's  interpretation — A  literal  restoration  to  their  own  land — Will  be  con- 
verted to  Christ — A  culminating  argument — Will  exemplify  the  power  of 
Christi.inity — Claim  of  the  ancient  Jerusalem  —  Mystic  Babylon  —  Daniel's 
Wonderful  prediction — The  Little  Horn — The  five  marks  of  identity — John's 
Description  of  Mystic  Babylon — The  four  marks  of  Revelation — The  man  of 
sin  donmed — Doom  recorded  Revelation  xviii. — The  ancient  Babylon — Judg- 
ment of  the  Modern  Babylon  sudden — Near  at  hand — God's  people  sh:ill  be 
saved The  elements  of  destruction  ready — A  world  wide  impression  neces- 
sary— Coiisuniniation,  "  The  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  become  the  kingdoms 
of  our  Lord  and  of  Mis  Christ." 

THE  windinor  up  of  the  affairs  of  our  globe,  must 
be  delayed  till  the  end  of  the  Sabbatic  year  of 
the  world.  Nearly  six  millennial  periods  have  passed 
away,  durinir  which  the  earth  has  o^roaned  under  the 
curse,  and  these  have  been  days  of  sorrow,  toil,  and 
unrest  to  its  inhabitants.  But  the  seventh  period  is 
to  be  a  Sabbatic  year ;  for  this  is  the  promise.  Satan 
has  never  yet  been  bound;  but  Satan  is  to  be  bound 
for  a  thousand  years,  and  Jesus  is  to  reicrn,  and  the 
world  is  to  have  a  Sabbath  of  rest.  Happy  they  who 
shall  live  in  that  ap^e,  to  enjoy  that  rest.  But  thrice 
more  blessed  they,  who  live  in  this  age  of  suffering  and 

(i88) 


THE    UNFULFILLED    PROPHECIES.  1 89 

toil,  and  are  permitted  to  do  something  for  Jesus  to 
hasten  the  coming  of  that  bhssful  period.  The  pre- 
dictions pointing  to  such  a  period  in  the  future,  and 
scattered  through  the  Sacred  pages  as  sparkHng 
gems,  are  like  beautiful  oases  in  a  parched  desert, 
calculated  to  inspire  joy  and  hope.  Let  us  look  at 
some  of  them.     Isaiah  said: 

"  The  wilderness  and  the  solitary  place  shall  be  glad 
for  them  ;  and  the  desert  shall  rejoice,  and  blossom  as 
the  rose.  It  shall  blossom  abundantly,  and  rejoice 
even  with  joy  and  singing ;  the  glory  of  Lebanon 
shall  be  given  unto  it,  the  excellency  of  Carmel  and 
Sharon  ;  they  shall  see  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  and  the 
excellency  of  our  God.  Strengthen  ye  the  weak 
hands,  and  confirm  the  feeble  knees.  Say  to  them 
that  are  of  a  fearful  heart,  Be  strong,  fear  not ;  behold, 
your  God  will  come  with  vengeance,  even  God  with  a 
recompense  ;  He  will  come  and  save  you.  Then  the 
eyes  of  the  blind  shall  be  opened,  and  the  ears  of  the 
deaf  shall  be  unstopped.  Then  shall  the  lame  man 
leap  as  a  hart,  and  the  tongue  of  the  dumb  sing ;  for 
in  the  wilderness  shall  waters  break  out,  and  streams 
in  the  desert.  And  the  parched  ground  shall  become 
a  pool,  and  the  thirsty  land  springs  of  water ;  in  the 
habitation  of  dragons,  where  each  lay,  shall  be  grass 
with  reeds  and  rushes.  And  a  highway  shall  be  there, 
and  a  way,  and  it  shall  be  called  The  way  of  holiness; 
the  unclean  shall  not  pass  over  it;  but  it  shall  be  for 
those ;  the  wayfaring  men,  though  fools,  shall  not  err 
therein.  No  lion  shall  be  there,  nor  any  ravenous 
beast  shall  go  up  thereon,  it  shall  not  be  found  there ; 
but  the  redeemed  shall  walk  there,  and  the  ransomed 
of  the  Lord  shall  return,  and  come  to  Zion  with  songs 
and  everlasting  joy  upon  their  heads ;  they  shall 
obtain  joy  and  gladness,  and  sorrow  and  sighing  shall 
flee  away." 


IcO  MOSES    AND    THE    nilLOSOPIlERS. 

In  tills  description,  there  is  a  graphic  account  of  the 
changes  to  be  introducetl.  There  is  to  be  a  physical 
renovation  of  the  aspect  of  the  globe,  and  there  is  to 
be  a  moral  revolution.  Of  the  same  import  is  the 
description  in  the  last  chapter  but  one,  in  the  same 
book  of  prophecy: 

"But  be  ye  glad  and  rejoice  forever  in  that  which 
I  create  ;  for,  behold,  I  create  Jerusalem  a  rejoicing, 
and  her  people  a  joy.  And  I  will  rejoice  in  Jerusalem, 
and  joy  in  my  people ;  and  the  voice  of  weeping  shall 
be  no  more  heard  in  her,  nor  the  voice  of  crying. 
There  shall  be  no  more  thence  an  infant  of  days,  nor 
an  old  man  that  hath  not  filled  his  days  ;  for  the  child 
shall  die  a  hundred  years  old;  but  the  sinner  being  a 
hundred  3'ears  old  shall  be  accursed.  And  they  shall 
build  houses,  and  inhabit  them  ;  and  they  shall  plant 
vineyards,  and  eat  the  fruit  of  them.  They  shall  not 
build,  and  another  inhabit;  they  shall  not  plant,  and 
another  eat ;  for  as  the  days  of  a  tree  are  the  days 
of  my  people,  and  mine  Elect  shall  long  enjoy  the 
work  of  their  hands.  They  shall  not  labor  in  vain, 
nor  bring  forth  for  trouble ;  for  they  are  the  Seed  of 
the  blessed  of  the  Lord,  and  their  offspring  wlih  them. 
And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  before  they  call,  I  will 
answer ;  and  while  they  are  yet  speaking,  I  will  hear. 
The  wolf  and  the  lamb  shall  feed  together,  and  the 
lion  shall  eat  straw  like  the  bullock  ;  and  dust  shall 
be  the  serpent's  meat.  They  shall  not  hurt  nor  destroy 
in  all  my  holy  mountain,  saith  the  Lord." 

I  will  give  but  one  more — a  graphic,  but  highly 
figurative,  passage.  It  is  found  in  the  twentieth  of 
Revelation  : 

"And  I  saw  an  angel  come  down  from  heaven, 
having  the  key  of  the  bottomless  pit  and  a  great  chain 


THE    UNFULFILLED    PROPHECIES.  IQI 

In  his  hand.  And  he  laid  hold  on  the  dragon,  that 
old  serpent,  which  is  the  Devil,  and  Satan,  and  bound 
him  a  thousand  years,  and  cast  him  into  the  bottom- 
less pit,  and  shut  him  up,  and  set  a  seal  upon  him, 
that  he  should  deceive  the  nations  no  more,  till  the 
thousand  years  should  be  fulfilled  ;  and  after  that  he 
must  be  loosed  a  little  season.  And  I  saw  thrones, 
and  they  sat  upon  them,  and  judgment  was  given  unto 
them;  and  I  saw  the  souls  of  them  that  were  beheaded 
for  the  witness  of  Jesus,  and  for  the  Word  of  God,  and 
which  had  not  worshipped  the  beast,  neither  his  image, 
neither  had  received  his  mark  upon  their  foreheads, 
or  in  their  hands  ;  and  they  lived  and  reigned  with 
Christ  a  thousand  years.  And  when  the  thousand 
years  are  expired,  Satan  shall  be  loosed  out  of  his 
prison,  and  shall  go  out  to  deceive  the  nations  which 
are  in  the  four  quarters  of  the  earth,  Gog  and  Magog, 
to  orather  them  too-ether  to  battle ;  the  number  of 
whom  is  as  the  sand  of  the  sea.  And  they  went  up 
on  the  breadth  of  the  eartli,  and  compassed  the  camp 
of  the  saints  about,  and  the  beloved  city;  and  fire  came 
down  from  God  out  of  heaven,  and  devoured  them." 

Here  is  the  last  batde  to  be  fought  on  this  earth, 
and  the  final  result — the  overthrow  of  the  wicked  One 
with  all  his  hosts.  But  this  battle,  as  we  learn,  is  to 
take  place  on  this  earth,  at  the  close  of  the  millennial 
period.  Then  Satan  is  to  have  a  brief  respite,  when 
he  will  make  one  last  effort  to  destroy  the  church. 
And  then  the  followers  of  the  Lamb,  who  had  lived 
long  without  any  fiery  trials  and  persecution,  will  have 
an  opportunity  to  show  their  zeal  for  Christ,  by  pass- 
ing through  a  sea  of  fiery  trials,  equal  to  any  the  primi- 
tive martyrs  ever  endured.  They  will  be  tried  ;  but 
the  wicked  will  be  destroyed  by  fire  from  heaven. 
That  will  be  the  end. 


192  MOSES   AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

PiittiiiL;  these  prophecies  together,  and  comparing 
them  one  with  anotlier,  and  with  numerous  others 
scattered  through  the  sacred  pages,  we  arrive  at  these 
following  conclusions,  viz.: 

1.  That  there  is  to  be  a  long  period — probably  the 
seventh  millennial  period  in  the  world's  history,  which 
is  to  be  the  earth's  Sabbath,  or  the  aee  of  rest  from 
the  long  and  weary  service  of  sin  and  Satan — rest 
from  the  sanguinary  strifes,  wars,  and  discord  that 
have  distracted  the  earth — rest  from  the  curse  of 
ignorance,  superstition,  idolatry,  and  everything  hurt- 
ful— everything  calculated  to  destroy,  impede  or  mar 
the  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  Church  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  on  earth. 

2.  That  this  millennial  age,  or  Sabbatic  year  of  the 
world,  is  yet  in  the  future.  That  it  is  not  past,  is  cer- 
tain from  the  fact  that  Satan  has  never  yet  been  bound. 
In  every  age,  he  has  been  going  about  "as  a  roaring 
lion,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour."  In  the  present 
year  of  grace,  and  in  every  previous  year  since  the 
fall  of  man,  he  has  been  "  the  crod  of  this  world  " — 
the  great  deceiver,  ever  active,  ever  eoine  about 
among  the  wicked.  He  has  never  yet  been  bound 
down  in  his  prison.  But  we  believe  that  he  is  to  be 
confined,  and  chained  down  for  "  a  thousand  years," 
and  that  will  be  the  millennium. 

3.  That  the  end  of  the  world  will  not  be  till  the  close 
of  the  millennium.  Adventists,  or  Pre-millennarian.s, 
think  that  the  end  of  the  present  Dispensation,  and 
of  the  world,  is  to  occur  at  the  beginning  of  that  age. 
But  the  fallacy  of  this  conclusion  is  evident  from  a 
variety-  of  considerations  ;  as,  first,   from  what  Isaiah 


THE    UNFULFILLED    PROPHECIES.  193 

says,  that  they  are  to  build  Jiouses,  2ind  pla)it  vi7icyan'is  ; 
to  marry  and  be  given  in  marriage ;  to  eat,  didnk, 
pi'opagate,  and  die  as  they  now  do,  only  that  the  child 
shall  die  a  hundred  years  old,  instead  of  dying  In  in- 
fancy ;  none  of  which  things  could  be  supposed  to 
occur  on  the  new  earth,  and  in  the  resurrection  state. 
A  second  consideration  fatal  to  the  pre-millennarian 
theory  is,  that,  when  the  thousand  years  are  expired, 
Satan  is  to  be  let  loose  "for  a  little  season,"  and  to 
ofo  forth  ao;ain  to  deceive  the  nations,  as  he  had  done 
before  the  millennial  age,  and  to  gather  them  together 
to  battle  against  the  saints — an  event  that  can  never 
take  place  on  the  new  earth,  and  after  the  general 
resurrection.  These  two  considerations  alone  are  fatal 
to  the  pre-millennarian  theory. 

The  ushering  in  of  the  latter-day  glory  of  God's 
Zion,  is  to  be  preceded  by  two  great  events,  the  res- 
toration of  the  Jews  to  their  ancient  land,  and  the 
downfall  of  the  anti-Christ,  or  the  mystic  Babylon. 
The  prophetic  Scriptures  relating  to  these  events, 
are  the  unfulfilled  prophecies,  to  which  we  must  now 
Sfive  some  attention. 

I,  There  is  no  question  among  Christians,  as  to 
the  final  restoration  of  God's  ancient  Israel.  But  it 
has  been  made  a  question  whether  It  will  be  a  literal 
or  a  spiritual  restoration. 

If  we  divide  the  prophetical  writings  concerning  the 
Jews  Into  two  portions :  the  first  portion  consisting  of 
those  that  foretold  their  dispersion,  and  the  other  por- 
tion those  that  foretell  their  restoration,  we  shall  have, 
in  the  manner  in  which  the  former  were  fulfilled,  a 


194 


MOSES    AND    TFIE    PHILOSOPHERS, 


key  to  tiie  correct  understanding-  of  the  manner,  in 
which  the  latter  are  to  be  fulhlled. 

The  world  knows  the  present  status  and  standing 
of  the  Jew  ;  and  they  know  what  it  has  been  for  cen- 
turies. The  Jew  is,  to-day,  one  of  God's  standing 
monuments,  to  convince  gainsayers.  The  moral  phe- 
nomenon exhibited  in  the  present  condition  of  the 
Jewish  people,  is  without  a  parallel,  and  wholly  inex- 
plicable on  any  principles  of  human  reasoning,  and 
there  is  no  way  to  account  for  it  only  by  a  recurrence 
to  their  own  sacred  books,  where  it  was  written  by  the 
pen  of  inspiration,  long  ages  ago — a  people  in  their 
lineage  and  in  their  very  features,  more  distinctly 
marked  as  a  nationality,  than  any  other  people  on  the 
face  of  the  earth,  yet  without  a  home  or  a  countr)- — 
scattered  among  all  nations,  yet  mixing  wdth  none — 
living  in  all  countries,  yet  taking  root  in  none — with 
their  faces  ever  turned  in  the  direction  of  Canaan,  as 
if  tliere  were  no  country,  no  land  that  could  give  them 
rest,  but  the  land  of  promise,  deeded  by  the  God  of 
heaven  to  their  father  Abraham,  for  an  evcrlastinir 
possession. 

The  following  extracts  from  a  lecture  of  Dr.  NIc- 
colls,  of  St.  Louis,  addressed  to  his  own  concrreQfation, 
on  the  state  of  the  Jews,  express  our  own  views  ex- 
actly : 

"For  reasons  of  the  highest  importance  in  the  de- 
velopment of  His  own  plans  for  the  redemption  of 
man,  God  assigned  a  chosen  land  to  the  chosen 
people.  The  land  was  of  His  own  choice,  and  the 
title  deed  to  it,  is  invested  while  time  shall  last,  in  the 
descendants  of  Abraham. 


THE  UNFULFILLED   PROPHECIES,  I95 

"The  Christian  will  recognize  the  right  of  the  Jew 
to  his  ancestral  lands  •  and  even  among  the  Moham- 
medans, there  is  the  traditional  saying,  that,  *  they  do 
not  own  the  holy  land,  but  only  hold  it  until  God's 
purposes  shall  be  fulfilled.'  The  land  or  locality  now 
held  under  Moslem  rule,  leads  us  to  think  of  the  Jews 
as  its  rightful  kino-s  or  rulers,  because  it  belono-s  to 
them  by  a  Divine  Charter,  that  has  never  been  re- 
pealed. John  wrote  the  Revelation  twenty  years 
after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  dispersion 
of  the  Jews  from  the  holy  land — and  his  language 
tried  by  a  fair  and  honest  interpretation,  certainly 
means  the  power  which  is  to  come  in  after  the  re- 
moval of  the  Turkish  rule,  is  a  rightful  one,  now  with- 
held or  restrained  by  certain  obstacles. 

'Tf  John  is  a  true  prophet,  he  must  be  in  harmony 
with  Isaiah,  and  Jeremiah,  and  Daniel,  and  Zechariah. 
If  he  is  here  speaking  of  the  Jews,  what  he  says,  must 
correspond  with  what  the  prophets  preceding  him, 
have  testified  concerning  the  same  people.  We  are 
familiar  with  the  predictions  by  which  it  was  disclosed 
to  Abraham  that  his  seed  should  inherit  Canaan  for 
an  everlasting  possession.  We  know  also  that  altera 
period  of  four  hundred  years  spent  in  bondage,  the 
prediction  was  realized.  The  seed  of  Abraham,  pre- 
served as  by  a  miracle,  came  in  possession  of  the 
promised  land  ;  but  when  led  into  it,  the  Divine  voice 
announced  a  series  of  judgments  that  should  fall  upon 
them,  in  case  they  were  false  to  Jehovah.  If  you  will 
carefully  examine  Leviticus  xxvi.,  you  will  find  that  it 
is  an  exact  forecasting,  in  their  order,  of  the  terrible 
judgments  which  were  to  come  upon  them.  The  last 
in  the  series  is  described  as  the  most  severe  and  de- 
structive. It  is  a  description  of  the  judgment  which 
began  at  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem : 

"T  will  destroy  your  high  places;  I  will  make  your 
cities  waste,  and  bring  your  sanctuaries  into  desola- 


196  MOSES    AND    THK    I'll  ILOSOPIIERS, 

tion  ;  and  I  will  hrin-j;-  the  kiml  unto  desolation,  and 
your  enemies  which  dwell  therein  shall  be  astonished 
at  it.  I  will  scatter  you  amonor  the  Gentiles,  and 
your  land  shall  be  desolate,  and  your  cities  waste; 
and  they  that  are  left  of  you,  shall  pine  away  in  their 
iniquity,  in  your  enemies'  lands,  and  also  in  the  in- 
i(juity  of  their  fathers,  shall  they  pine  away.'  (Lev.) 

'"1  will  sift  the  house  of  Israel  among  the  nations, 
like  as  corn  as  sifted  in  a  sieve,  yet  shall  not  the  least 
grain  fall  upon  the  earth' — that  is,  take  root  in  other, 
lands.   (Jer.)  * 

'"1  will  deliver  them  to  be  removed  into  all  the 
kingdoms  of  the  earth  for  their  hurt,  to  be  a  reproach 
and  a  proverb,  a  taunt  and  a  curse  in  all  places  whither 
I  shall  drive  them.'  (Amos.) 

"Such  are  a  few  of  the  many  predictions  concerning- 
their  last  dispersion  among  the  Gentiles.  And  what 
has  history  to  say  concerning  them  ?  The  land  of 
Jummin  is,  indeed,  'a  desolation;'  its  cities  are  in 
ruins  ;  its  fields  naked  and  bare,  so  that  the  plains 
which  were  once  the  granaries  of  the  world,  do  not 
yield  enough  of  corn  to  supply  the  scanty  population 
abiding  there,  Jerusalem  is 'trodden  under  foot  of 
the  Gentiles,'  according  to  the  prediction  of  Jesus. 
The  place  of  the  sanctuary  is  profaned  by  the  mock 
and  worship  of  the  false  prophet.  Taken  away  from 
the  land  of  his  fathers,  the  Jew  has,  indeed,  been  silted 
like  corn  amone  the  nations.  We  find  him  in  all  lands 
north,  south,  east,  and  west.  He  is  among  all  j)eople, 
yet  separate  and  distinct  from  all.  His  national  char- 
acteristics are  as  strongly  marked  now,  as  in  the  da\s 
of  Solomon.  The  sons  of  Abraham,  on  the  banks  of 
the  Mississippi,  are  still  marked  by  the  features  of 
their  illustrious  sire;  and  many  a  Jewish  maiden  pre- 
sents the  counterpart  of  the  beauteous  Rebecca;  and 
still,  perhaps,  some  son  of  Jacob  weeps  for  very  joy 
as  he  kisses  her,  and  discovers  the  proud  kinship  be- 


THE    UNFULFILLED    PROPHECIES.  1 9/ 

tween  them.  The  Jew  is  the  miracle  of  history.  By- 
all  the  laws  that  govern  other  tribes  and  races,  he 
ought  to  have  been  absorbed  and  lost  among  the  na- 
tions, as  the  waters  of  a  smaller  stream  are  lost  in  the 
current  of  a  mighty  river. 

"But  instead  of  this  he  has  survived  the  races  of 
his  conquerors  and  oppressors,  Egypt  and  her  Pha- 
raohs, the  Babylonians,  the  Persians,  the  Grecians,  and 
the  Romans — all  these  are  dead  and  buried  in  their 
graves  beyond  the  hope  of  resurrection.  Their 
names  are  renowned  in  history.  But  the  Jew  still 
lives  as  distinct  as  when  Pharaoh  oppressed  him; 
when  he  sung  his  songs  by  the  ruins  of  Babylon  in 
sad  exile ;  or  when  the  Romans  carried  him  away,  to 
wander  for  ages  among  the  Gentiles.  What  must  be 
their  sorrows!  How  hard  their  lot!  Everywhere 
they  have  been  pursued,  tormented,  persecuted,  and 
slaughtered,  •  Literally,  their  name  has  been  a  taunt, 
and  an  epithet  of  scorn  and  derision.  Romans  and 
Christians  slaughtered  them,  or  drove  them  as  fugi- 
tives to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth,  until  in  the 
time  of  Constantine  there  were  only  five  hundred  of 
them  in  Palestine.  The  Mahometans  slew  them  by 
thousands.  The  history  of  the  crusades  is  stained 
with  the  accounts  of  the  murders  of  this  hapless  peo- 
ple in  the  cities  and  towns  of  Europe.  Gibbon  tells 
us,  in  touching  lines,  of  the  thousands  of  helpless 
Jews  who  fell  as  victims  to  the  fanatical  rage  of  the 
Christian  crusaders.  Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  describing 
the  sufferings  of  this  people,  writes  :  'Except,  perhaps, 
the  flying  fish,  there  was  no  race  existing  on  the  earth, 
in  the  air,  or  in  the  waters,  who  were  the  objects  of  such 
an  unremitting,  general,  and  relentless  persecution, 
as  the  Jews  of  this  period.  Upon  the  slightest  and 
most  unreasonable  pretences,  as  well  as  upon  accusa- 
tions the  most  absurd  and  groundless,  their  persons 
and  their  property  were   exposed  to  every  turn   of 


198  MOSES    AXD   THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

popular  fury;  for  Norman,  Saxon,  Dane,  and  Briton, 
however  adverse  the  races  were  to  each  otlier,  con- 
tended vvliicli  should  look  with  greatest  detestation 
ujjon  a  people  whom  it  was  accounted  a  point  ol  re- 
liL;"ion  to  hate,  to  revile,  to  despise,  to  plunder,  and  to 
persecute.'  Thus,  for  eighteen  centuries  have  the 
Jews  been  despoiled  and  persecuted. 

"They  now  dwell  in  exile,  a  homeless  people  in  all 
lands,  taking-  root  in  none.  They  have  been  a  pro- 
verb, a  hissing,  and  a  by-word,  as  the  prophecy  pro- 
claimed more  than  three  thousand  years  ago.  Yet 
ten  millions  of  them  remain.  Why  are  they  so 
strangely  preserved  ?  In  this  same  connection,  you 
will  hnd  a  prediction  concerning  Jenisalem.  It  was 
written  by  the  prophet  Zechariah,  after  the  Babylonish 
captivity:  'Behold,  I  will  make  Jerusalem  a  cup  of 
trembling  unto  all  the  people  round  about.  And  in 
that  day  will  I  make  Jerusalem  a  burdensome  stone  for 
all  people  ;  all  that  burden  themselves  with  it,  shall  be 
cut  in  pieces,  though  all  the  people  of  the  earth  be 
gathered  toirether  airainst  it.'  What  is  the  testimony 
of  history  with  reference  to  this?  According  to  the 
word  of  our  Lord,  Jerusalem  has  been  trodden  under 
foot  of  the  Gentiles  foreiyfhteen  centuries;  but  durinjy 
all  that  time  it  lias  been  a  plague  and  a  burden  to 
those  who  held  it.  The  Romans  found  it  a  burden.  It 
cost  the  Saracens  untold  treasure  and  blood  to  keep 
it,  and  finally  they  were  destroyed.  The  crusaders 
held  it  for  a  centui")',  but  found  it  a  burdensome  stone, 
greater  than  Europe  could  carry..  The  Turks  have 
held  it,  and  have  already  had  three  wasting  wars  on 
its  behalf.  Jerusalem  in  ruins  has  been  a  question  of 
debate,  a  perpetual  strife,  and  burden  to  the  nations. 

"And  now,  let  us  take  a  step  further.  On  the  same 
page  of  prophecy,  written  by  the  same  pen,  we  find 
declarations  affirming  the  restoration  of  Jerusalem, 
and  of  the  chosen   people;  to  the  inh(;ritance  of  their 


THE    UNFULFILLED    PROPHECIES.  I99 

fathers.  Let  us  hear  some  of  their  predictions :  '  I 
will  bring  them  again  also  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt, 
and  gather  them  out  of  Assyria,  and  I  will  bring  them 
into  the  land  q(  Gilead  and  Lebanon.'  (Zech.)  This 
was  written  after  the  Babylonish  captivity,  so  it 
cannot  refer  to  the  return  at  that  time.  Jesus  Christ 
said:  'And  they  shall  fall  by  the  edge  of  the  sword; 
Jerusalem  shall  be  trodden  down  of  the  Gentiles, 
until  the  times  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled.'  Does  not 
this  imply  that  there  is  a  time  of  restoration? 

"  Paul  writes :  '  For  I  would  not,  brethren,  that  ye 
should  be  ignorant  of  this  mystery  (that  is,  the  judg- 
ment which  has  fallen  upon  the  Jews)  lest  ye  should  be 
wise  in  your  own  conceits,  that  blindness  in  part  is 
happened  to  Israel,  until  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles 
be  come  in.'  The  universal  testimony  of  the  prophets 
is  this:  'I  will  bring  them  again  into  the  land  that  I 
gave  unto  their  fathers.  Behold,  I  will  send  for  many 
fishers,  saith  the  Lord,  and  they  shall  fish  them  ;  and 
after  that  will  1  send  for  many  hunters,  and  they  shall 
hunt  them  from  every  mountain,  and  from  every  hill, 
and  out  of  the  holes  of  the  rocks.' 

"  In  Isaiah,  we  have  a  prediction  showing  that  the 
drying  up  of  the  waters  ol  the  river  Euphrates,  shall 
prepare  the  highway  for  the  return  of  Israel  to  their 
own  land  ;  and  now,  in  Revelation,  St.  John  declares 
that  it  is  for  the  kings  of  the  East.  If  we  let  prophecy 
interpret  prophecy,  what  shall  we  say  other  than 
this,  that  the  kings  of  the  East,  are  that  peculiar 
people  whom  God  has  from  the  ages  and  centuries 
past,  appointed  to  rule  in  the  region  between  the 
rivers  of  Egypt  and  the  great  river  Euphrates. 
We  have  found  the  first  of  these  prophecies  literally 
fulfilled ;  by  what  right,  then,  can  we  give  a  spiritual 
interpretation  to  that  which  remains  to  be  fulfilled, 
and  remove  it  from  the  realm  of  history  to  that  of 
mythical  and  spiritual  fulfilment?     The  only  sensible 


20s>  MOSES    AND    THK    r'UFLOSOPMERS. 

and  safe  rule  is  to  say.  tliat,  just  as  part  of  the  pro- 
phecies— that  which  relates  to  the  dispersion  and 
judi;ment  of  the  Jews,  has  been  translatetl  into  iiis- 
tory,  in  like  manner,  what  remains  shall  be  fultilk^d — 
that  is.  the  dispersion  was  a  literal  one, — so  shall  the 
restoration  be.  The  Jew  shall  ai^ain  dwell  in  peace, 
in  the  land  of  his  fathers  ;  for  the  mouth  of  the  Lord 
hath  spoken  it." 

To  the  above  able  and  lucid  exposition  of  the  pro- 
phecies touching-  the  literal  restoration  of  Israel,  we 
must  add,  that,  either  precedent  to,  or  consequent  on 
their  literal  restoration,  will  be  their  conversion  to  God, 
and  their  hearty  reception  of  Jesvis  as  their  Messiah. 
F'or  this  is  clearly  foretold  in  many  scriptures;  es- 
peciall)',  in  the  following  utterance  of  Zechariah : 

"And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day,  that  I  will 
seek  to  destrov  all  the  nations  that  come  against  Jeru- 
salem. And  I  will  pour  upon  the  house  of  David, 
and  upon  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  the  spirit  of 
g-race  and  of  supplication;  and  they  shall  look  upon 
me,  whom  they  have  pierced,  and  they  shall  mourn 
for  him.  as  one  mourneth  for  his  only  son;  and  shall 
be  in  bitterness  for  him,  as  one  that  is  in  bitterness 
for  his  first-born." 

"They  shall  look  on  me  whom  they  have  pierced;" 
and  "they  shall  mourn,"  and  "they  shall  be  in  bitter- 
ness." Whom  did  they  pierce  ?  Him  who  here 
speaks  by  the  mouth  of  His  prophet — their  own  long-- 
promised  King  and  Redeemer.  And  will  they  not 
mourn  and  be  in  bitterness,  when  they  shall  have 
their  eyes  opened  ;  and  when  they  shall  be  convinced 
that  He  came;  at  the  appointed  time — their  own   ]\Ies- 


THE    UNFULFILLED    PROPHECIES.  20I 

siah — the  Son  of  David,  and  that  they  nailed  Him  to 
the  Cross !  How  deep  will  be  their  repentance ! 
Doubtless,  their  contrition  and  sorrow,  and  also  their 
love  to  Jesus  when  converted,  will  be  in  the  ratio  of 
their  long  and  obstinate  rejcrction  of  P4im.  And  in 
that  day,  the  world  will  have  an  exhibition  of  Chris- 
tianity in  its  strength  and  power.  They  will  not  serve 
Jesus  half-heartedly,  as  many  of  us.  Gentiles,  have  en- 
deavored to  do,  bringing  gifts  to  his  altar  with  our 
left  hand,  while  with  the  right  we  lay  our  best  offer- 
incjs  on  the  altar  of  Mammon.  We  want  to  see  that 
day,  when  Zion  shall  put  on  her  beautiful  garments. 

We  have  reason  to  believe  that  there  is  an  impor- 
tant mission  yet  for  the  Jews  to  perform,  after  they 
shall  have  been  gathered.  For  it  is  written,  that 
"livin;'-  waters  are  to  flow  out  from  lerusalem."  It 
may  be,  it  hath  been  reserved  to  the  Jew,  to  give  the 
nations  a  fair  and  proper  illustration  of  the  inherent 
vitality  of  Christianity,  and  to  wake  up  the  Christian 
world  from  its  dead  formalism,  that,  like  a  deadly  in- 
cubus, has  pressed  down  the  Church  for  ages.  Look 
at  the  Romish  Church,  the  Greek  Church,  the  English 
Church,  and  the  greater  portion  of  the  Protestant 
Church — all  of  them  professing  Christianity,  and  yet 
all  of  them  but  little  else  than  burlesques  on  the 
name. 

Surely,  there  must  needs  come  a  change  to  startle 
the  world  out  of  this  slumberous  death — to  teach  that 
religion  does  not  consist  in  outward  forms,  in  liturgies, 
and  empty  pageantry  and  show — that  it  is  not  a  thing 
that  goes  in  silver  slippers,  and  sits  on  soft,  velvety 
cushions  to  worship  God,  on  a  fair  day ;  when  there  is 


202  MOSES   AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

a  orrand  Church — and  an  ors/an  in  the  Church,  and  a 
silver-tongued  orator  in  the  pulpit  to  regale  the  ear 
with  classical  and  flowery  sentences.  We  want  a  dif- 
ferent t)pe  of  Christianity,  such  as  some  of  the  first 
Jewish  preachers,  Peter  and  Paul,  preached ;  and, 
perhaps,  we  may  add,  such  as  Mr.  Moody  now  exem- 
plifies in  his  life  ;  having  in  it  the  central  and  all  per- 
vading idea  of  Christ,  and  Him  crucified. 

There  are  considerations  apart  from  the  prophecies, 
that  make  the  literal  restoration  an  event,  in  itself, 
greatly  to  be  desired,  on  account  of  the  effect  it  would 
have  directly  on  the  conversion  of  the  world,  and  the 
glory  of  God's  visible  kingdom. 

1.  In  the  first  place,  their  restoration  to  their  own 
land,  and  their  conversion  to  Christ  after  having  ob- 
stinately rejected  Him  for  eighteen  centuries,  would 
form  the  culminating  argument  in  the  chapter  of  evi- 
dences, which  go  to  show  the  truth  of  Revelation.  It 
would  be  an  argument  which  the  unbelieving  world 
could  not  resist.  They  know  the  Jew.  They  know 
his  history.  And  if  they  should  see  him  back  once 
more  in  Jerusalem,  occupying  the  holy  land,  as  in  the 
days  of  David  and  Solomon,  and  with  the  Son  of 
David — jesus,  as  their  acknowledged  King,  would 
they  not  believe  the  prophecies  ? 

2.  The  Jew,  with  his  natural  afiinity  to  Christ  ac- 
cording to  the  Hesh,  and  with  his  history  and  his 
memories  running  back  to  Calvary  and  to  the  ancient 
Jerusalem,  when  converted,  will  certainly  aflbrd  such 
a  type  of  real,  living  Christianity  as  it  is,  and  as  It 
was  exhibited  in  the  life  of  Paul,  and  some  of  the 
first   converts   among    the  Jews,   as   we    do    not   now 


THE    UNFULFILLED    PROPHECIES.  203 

often  see  among  Gentile  converts.  There  is  a  little 
Christianity  in  the  world,  but  not  much.  There  are 
a  few  drops  of  mercy,  but  they  are  only  drops  that 
precede  the  coming  shower.  We  want  the  abundant 
outpouring  of  grace.     We  want  the  shower. 

3.  When  the  Jews  shall  be  restored  to  Palestine, 
and  shall  embrace  Christ  as  their  Messiah  and  Sav- 
iour, not  only  will  they  exhibit  in  their  conversion  and 
in  their  life,  a  higher  type  of  Christianity,  probably, 
than  the  world  has  yet  seen,  but  they  will  possess 
other  advantages  and  facilities  for  acting  as  mission- 
aries and  evangelists,  to  carry  on  the  work  of  con- 
verting the  world  to  Christ,  which  other  missionaries 
do  not  possess.  They  have  always  had  the  Scriptures 
of  the  Old  Testament  in  the  oricrinal  Hebrew,  which 
is  taught  to  every  Hebrew  child.  And  when  they 
shall  be  gathered  out  of  all  the  nations,  into  their  own 
countr)',  they  will  be  in  possession  of  all  living  lan- 
guages, so  that  they  will  not  have  to  spend  years 
before  they  can  become  evangelists,  in  the  study  of 
strange  tongues.  Moreover,  they  have,  at  this  day, 
more  wealth,  and  more  general  learning — fourfold 
more,  than  any  other  equal  population  on  the  globe. 
And  when  they  shall  begin  to  look  on  Him  whom 
they  pierced,  and  when  they  shall  be  baptized  with  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire,  wdiat  grand  missionaries 
they  will  be!  Then  will  be  the  time  when  "a  nation 
shall  be  born  in  a  day." 

4.  The  ancient  Jerusalem  has  a  claim  on  the  Chris^ 
tian  world,  and  there  is  no  other  spot,  or  city  so  suit- 
able to  be  made  the  centre  of  the  Christian  world. 
Not  only  is  it  true  that  "the  fountains  of  living  waters," 


204  MOSES    AND    THE    PIllLOSOr'HERS. 

havo  (lowed  out  from  tlicncc,  but  it  is  the  type  of  the 
heavenly  Jerusalem,  often  called  "  Zion,"  and  "the  city 
of  God."  And  should  it  not  become  the  centre  of 
Christendom  ?  When  the  entire  world  shall  be  broufrht 
under  the  dominion  of  Jesus,  so  vast  a  kingdom  will 
want  some  central  point.  Shall  they  go  to  London, 
or  Paris,  or  Washington  ?  What  city  shall  be  the 
capital  of  the  Kingdom  of  Christ?  Where  shall  the 
General  Conferences,  or  the  Pan-assemblies  hold  their 
meetings,  where  delegates  Irom  every  quarter  of  the 
world  shall  annually  meet,  and  confer  together  re- 
specting the  interests  of  God's  universal  Zion?  What 
point  would  be  more  central,  or  more  favorable,  for 
this  purpose,  than  Jerusalem  restored,  rebuilt  and 
beautified — Jerusalem  situated,  if  we  may  say  so,  al- 
most at  the  centre  of  the  world,  at  the  head  of  the 
middle-sea,  and  at  the  point  where  three  of  the  great 
continents  come  tocrether? 

There  will  be  a  necessity  that  the  Church  of  Jesus, 
embracing  the  whole  earth,  shall  come  together  by  its 
representatives  at  stated  times,  to  take  counsel  one 
with  another;  for  it  is  written,  "Thy  watchmen  shall 
see  eye  to  eye."     And  again  it  is  said: 

"And  the  Lord  shall  be  King  over  all  the  earth;  in 
that  day,  there  shall  be  one  Lord,  and  His  name  one." 
"And  it  shall  come  to  pass  that  every  one  that  is  left 
of  all  the  nations,  which  came  against  Jerusalem,  shall 
even  go  up  from  year  to  year,  to  worship  the  King, 
the  Lord  of  hosts,  and  to  keep  the  feast  of  taber- 
nacles." 

How  appropriate,  in  the  millennial  age,  would  be 
the   observance   of  such   a   festival,   once  a   year,  to 


THE    UNFULFILLED    PROPHECIES.  205 

perpetuate  the  memory  of  the  fact,  that  they  had  been 
wanderers  in  the  wilderness,  dvvelhng  in  tents,  but 
met  together  at  last,  In  one  city,  and  under  one  King. 
There  is  no  saint  who  would  not  want  to  make  the 
pilgrimage,  at  least,  once  in  a  lifetime,  to  get  a  view  of 
Calvary,  and  to  tread  the  very  soil,  once  trodden  by 
the  sacred  feet. 

II.  Another  o-reat  event,  in  which  the  whole  w^orld 
is  interested,  which  is  to  precede  the  introduction  of 
the  Millennial  age,  is  the  downfall  of  mystic  Babylon. 
The  rise  of  that  power  and  the  fall  thereof  are  fore- 
told with  equal  clearness,  w^hatever  we  suppose  that 
power  to  be.  According  to  Daniel,  it  was  to  take  its 
rise  in  the  days  of  the  fourth  kingdom  represented  by 
the  fourth  beast.  It  was  to  pluck  up  three  of  the 
horns,  or  three  of  the  ten  kingdoms,  into  which  the 
fourth  kingdom  was  eventually  subdivided.  This 
power  was  to  prosper  through  craft — to  have  the  eyes 
of  a  man — to  persecute  and  wear  out  the  saints  of  the 
Most  Hieh — to  continue  for  a  definite  time,  and  then 
to  be  destroyed.  I  will  quote  the  prophecy  of  Daniel 
in  full  on  this  subject : 

"After  this  I  saw  in  the  night  visions,  and  behold,  a 
fourth  beast,  dreadful  and  terrible,  and  strong  exceed- 
ingly, and  it  had  great  iron  teeth;  it  devoured  and 
brake  in  pieces,  and  stamped  the  residue  with  the  feet 
of  it ;  and  it  was  diverse  from  all  the  beasts  that  were 
before  it,  and  it  had  ten  horns.  I  considered  the 
horns,  and  behold,  there  came  up  among  them  an- 
other little  horn,  before  whom  there  were  three  of  the 
first  horns  plucked  up  by  the  roots;  and,  behold,  in 
the  horn  were  eyes  like  the  eyes  of  a  man,  and  a 
mouth  spea.king  great  things.     I,  Daniel,  was  grieved 


206  MOSES    AND    THE    PIIILOSOPHERS. 

in  niy  Fipirit,  in  the  midst  of  my  body,  and  the  visions 
of  my  head  troubled  me.  I  came  near  unto  one  of 
them  that  stood  by,  and  asked  him  the  truth  of  all 
this.  So  he  told  me,  and  made  me  know  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  thinL,rs.  Thus,  he  said,  the  fourth 
beast  shall  be  the  fourth  kinijdom  upon  earth,  which 
shall  b."  diverse  from  all  kingdoms,  and  shall  devour 
the  whole  earth,  and  shall  tread  it  down,  antl  break  it 
in  pieces.  And  the  ten  horns  out  of  this  kingdom  are 
ten  kings  (kingdoms)  that  shall  arise,  and  another 
shall  arise  after  them,  and  he  shall  be  diverse  from  the 
first,  and  he  shall  subdue  three  kings.  And  he  shall 
speak  great  words  against  the  Most  High,  and  shall 
wear  out  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  and  think  to 
change  times  and  laws,  and  they  shall  be  given  into 
his  hand,  until  a  time,  and  times,  and  the  dividing  of 
time.  But  the  judgment  shall  sit,  and  they  shall  take 
away  his  dominion  to  consume  and  to  destroy  it  unto 
the  end." 

A  portion  of  these  extraordinary  predictions  of 
Daniel  has  been  accomplished,  and  now  constitutes 
an  important  portion  of  the  history  of  nations.  The 
whole  Christian  church  bears  witness  to  this  fact. 
Does  this  afford  anv  solid  ir^ound  of  belief  that  the 
unfulfilled  portion  is  yet  to  be  accomplished  ?  That 
is  a  question  to  be  decided  by  every  reader  for  him- 
self. 

What  we  want,  is,  to  identify  that  persecuting  power 
that  was  to  arise,  and  to  wear  out  the  saints  of  the 
Most  High.  Daniel  gives  us  several  marks,  atten- 
tion to  which,  I  think,  will  enable  any  impartial  student 
of  history,  to  determine,  with  scarcely  the  possibility 
of  a  mistake,  the  question  of  identity.  Let  us  notice 
several  of  those   marks   that  are  so  well  defined  that 


THE    UNFULFILLED    PROPHECIES.  20/ 

no  one  need  to  mistake  except  through  ignorance,  or 
wilful  blindness. 

I.  In  the  first  place,  this  Little  Horn  was  to  spring 
up  among  the  ten  horns,  which  came  up  from  the 
Fourth  beast.  The  P"ourth  beast  was  the  old  Roman 
Empire.  And  Daniel  explains  that  the  ten  horns  are 
ten  kings,  or  ten  kingdoms,  into  which  that  empire 
or  dominion  was  to  be  divided.  Now  the  fact  is  that 
the  Roman  Empire  never  was  succeeded  by  a  fifth 
universal  dominion,  but  that  it  fell  into  fratrments 
and  was  actually  divided  into  ten  kingdoms.  How 
could  Daniel  have  known  this,  ten  centuries  before 
the  time  ?  But  here  is  the  fact :  Gibbon,  Machiavelli, 
and  other  reliable  historians,  without  intending  to  re- 
cord the  fulfilment  of  prophecy,  give  us  the  names  of 
these  ten  kingdoms  which  were  constituted  out  of  old 
Rome.  Several  of  the  names  have  been  changed,  but 
they  were  originally,  the  Eastern  Empire,  the  Van- 
dals, the  Alani,  the  Suevi,  the  Franks,  now  France,  the 
Saxon  Heptarchy,  Britain,  and  the  Hemli,  whose  king, 
Odover,  took  Rome  and  assumed  the  title  of  kine 
of  Italy.  The  Visigoths  was  the  ninth,  and  the  Bur- 
gundians  was  the  tenth.  In  the  history  of  Florence, 
Machiavelli  gives  the  names  of  the  ten  kingdoms,  into 
which  the  Roman  Empire  was  divided,  all  of  which 
are  mapped  on  the  Historical  Chart.  It  is  wonder- 
ful that  Daniel  should  have  written  the  history  of 
nations,  more  than  a  thousand  years  before  it  trans- 
pired. 

II.  In  the  second  place,  the  Little  Horn  which  was 
to  wear  out  the  saints,  was  to  pluck  up  three  of  the 
ten  horns.     Now  we  know  that  there  is  a  power  in 


20S  MOSES    AND    TIIK    nilLOSOPlIERS. 

Europe,  that  wears,  and  for  centuries  past,  has  worn 
a  triple  crown.  xVnd  why  is  that?  Because,  in  the 
time  of  Charlemagne,  he  was  invested  with  the  abso- 
lute dominion,  civil  and  ecclesiastical,  over  three  of 
those  kinirdoms ;  and  for  the  first  time,  as  Gibbon 
relates,  "  the  world  beheld  a  Christian  Bishop  invested 
with  the  prerogatives  of  a  temporal  prince."  This  is  a 
mark  easily  recognized. 

III.  A  third  mark  given  by  the  prophet  is,  that  this 
Horn  was  to  have  eyes  like  the  eyes  of  a  man,  and 
"a  mouth  speaking  great  things,"  or,  "great  words 
ao-ainst  the  Most  HiMi."  It  is  a  remarkable  predic- 
tion,  but  look  at  history,  to  see  in  what  a  remarkable 
manner  it  has  been  fulfilled.  We  know  that  there  is 
a  power,  and  has  been  for  ages,  but  only  one  power, 
which  claims  to  be  God's  Vicegerent  on  earth — which 
claims  to  be  infallible — which  claims  to  have  power 
to  pardon  sin,  to  change  laws,  etc.  Certainly  this 
must  be  "the  mouth  speaking  great  things."  Bel- 
larmine,  a  Romish  cardinal,  affirmed  that  the  pope 
can  transubstantiate  sin  into  duty,  and  duty  into  sin. 
An  archbishop  of  Rome,  Stephen  of  Petiassee,  said 
in  the  Council  of  the  Lateran,  that  Leo  (the  pope) 
possessed  power  above  all  powers,  both  in  heaven 
and  earth. 

IV.  A  fourth  mark:  this  power  was  to  "wear  out 
the  saints  of  the  Most  High."  ''Weiv  ont^^  —  what 
a  phrase!  signifying  that  he  was  to  be  no  ordinary 
persecutor  of  the  saints.  And  what  does  history  say  ? 
I  quote: 

"The  Papal  power  has  been  a  relentless  persecutor 
of  those  who  differed  from  its  Ecclesiastical  decisions. 


THE    UNFULFILLED    PROPHECIES.  2O9 

It  has  made  war  against  all  who  preferred  the  author- 
ity of  the  Scriptures  to  that  of  the  church,  and  by 
prison  and  dungeon,  by  torture  and  sword,  by  exile 
and  fire,  it  has  attempted  to  'wear  out'  heresy.  The 
Inquisition  with  its  countless  victims;  the  bloody  cru- 
sades against  the  Albigenses  and  Waldenses,  pro- 
claimed by  the  pope,  in  which  one  million  Gospel 
Christians  were  murdered;  the  terrible  persecutions 
in  the  Netherlands;  the  fires  of  Smithfield  in  Eng- 
land; the  horrible  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew,  in 
which  seventy  thousand  Protestants  were  butchered; 
all  these  stand  as  the  evidence  of  the  persecuting 
spirit  of  Rome." 

"Indeed,  any  one  having  the  slightest  acquaintance 
with  the  history  of  the  Papacy,  will  not  question  the 
fact,  that,  all  along,  it  has  made  the  most  strenuous 
and  persistent  efiforts  to  crush  out  by  violent  means, 
what  it  was  pleased  to  call  'heresy'  and  that  its  vic- 
tims can  be  numbered  by  the  millions.  If  it  can  be 
shown  that  those  whom  it  persecuted  for  heresy,  were, 
after  all,  not  heretics,  but  Gospel  believers,  then  surely, 
none  can  question,  in  this  respect,  the  application  of 
the  prophetic  description." — Dr,  Niccolls. 

V.  Another  mark  mentioned  by  the  prophet,  in  his 
grand  panoramic  view  of  all  times,  by  which  to  iden- 
tify this  persecuting  Horn,  was,  that  he  was  to  have 
power  to  persecute  during  "a  time,  and  tmtes,  and  the 
dividing  of  tiiney  This  is  a  remarkable  expression  ; 
but  the  same  occurs  in  the  book  of  Revelation,  in 
John's  description  of  the  same  persecuting  power. 
And  Commentators  are  generally  agreed  in  saying 
that  this  time  is  three  years  and  a  half,  or  1260  days, 
each  day  representing  a  year — that  is,  1260  prophetic 
years,  during  which  this  power  was  to  continue.  The 
difficulty  is  in  fixing  the  date  of  the  beginning.     If  we 

H 


2IO  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

knew  just  when  that  power  arose  in  the  world,  we 
should  know  when  it  will  end  ;  for  Daniel  says :  "  He 
shall  come  to  his  end."  The  Roman  Bishops  first 
claimed,  and  began  to  exercise  absolute  and  universal 
jurisdiction  over  the  whole  Christian  Church,  a.  d. 
606.  And  some  of  the  most  learned  divines  and  bib- 
lical expositors  give  that  year,  as  the  date  of  the  rise 
of  this  Anti-christ.  This  would  make  the  end  to  take 
place,  A.  D.  1866,  very  near  the  time  when  Victor 
Emanuel  took  the  Pope  as  a  prisoner,  and  put  an  end 
forever  to  his  persecution  of  the  saints.  This  is  a 
striking  coincidence,  to  say  the  least,  between  the  his- 
tory of  affairs  and  the  prophecy. 

John,  in  the  Revelation,  speaking  of  this  same  per- 
secuting power,  described  by  Daniel,  gives  us  another 
infallible  mark,  by  which  we  may  identify  that  power. 
This  is  the  passage : 

"So  he  carried  me  away  in  the  Spirit,  into  the  wil- 
derness-; and  I  saw  a  woman  sit  upon  a  scarlet-colored 
beast,  full  of  names  of  blasphemy,  having  seven  heads 
and  ten  horns.  And  the  woman  was  arrayed  in  pur- 
ple and  scarlet  color,  and  decked  with  gold,  and  pre- 
cious stones,  and  pearls,  having  a  golden  cup  in  her 
hand,  full  of  abominations  and  tllthiness  of  her  forni- 
cation ;  and  upon  her  forehead  was  a  name  written, 
Mystery,  I'abylon  the  Great,  the  Mother  of  harlots, 
and  abominations  of  the  earth.  And  I  saw  the  woman 
drunken  with  the  blood  of  the  saints,  and  with  the 
blood  of  the  martyrs  of  Jesus;  and  when  I  saw  her, 
I  wondered  with  great  wonder.  And  the  angel  said 
unto  me,  wherefore  didst  thou  marvel  ?  I  will  tell  thee 
the  mystery  of  the  woman,  and  of  the  beast  that  carrieth 
her,  which  hath  the  seven  heads  and  ten  horns.  The 
beast  that  thou  sawest  was,  and  is   not.  and  shall  as- 


THE   UNFULFILLED    PROPHECIES.  i2Il 

cend  out  of  the  bottomless  pit,  and  go  into  perdition ; 
and  they  that  dwell  on  the  earth,  shall  wonder,  whose 
names  were  not  written  in  the  Book  of  life  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world,  when  they  behold  the  beast 
that  was,  and  is  not,  and  yet  is.  And  here  is  the  mind 
which  hath  wisdom.  The  seven  heads  are  seven 
mountains  on  which  the  woman  sitteth." 

This  is  a  more  minute  description  than  that  con- 
tained in  Daniel.  There  are  four  marks  o-iven  that 
cannot  be  understood  of  any  other  power  than  the 
Church  of  Rome. 

1.  The  persecuting-  power  is  spoken  of  under  the 
figure  of  a  woman,  by  which  we  are  given  to  under- 
stand that  it  is  an  apostate  Church.  We  are  made 
absolutely  certain  of  this  by  the  fact,  that  the  true 
Church  is  represented  under  the  same  figure  of  a 
woman,  as  when  it  is  said :  "And  there  appeared  a 
great  wonder  in  heaven  ;  a  woman  clothed  with  the 
sun,  and  the  moon  under  her  feet,  and  upon  her  head 
a  crown  of  twelve  stars."  This  is  a  figurative  descrip- 
tion of  the  Church — the  same  Church  that,  when  re- 
deemed and  glorified,  is  called  the  "Bride,"  and  "the 
Lamb's  wife."  Neither  the  old  Pagan  Rome,  nor  any 
other  persecuting  power  is  anywhere,  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, spoken  of  under  the  figure  of  a  woman.  In 
this  same  Revelation,  the  old  Pagan  Rome,  when  de- 
scribed as  persecuting  the  Church,  is  called  the  "Red 
Dragon  having  seven  heads  and  ten  horns,  and  seven 
crowns  upon  his  heads."  This  power  is  never  spoken 
of  under  the  fiijure  of  a  woman.  So  it  could  not  be 
pagan  Rome  that  was  meant. 

2.  The  "  Woman,"  or  this  persecuting  power,  that 


213  MOSES    AND   THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

was  to  be  drunken  with  the  blood  of  the  saints,  and  with 
the  blood  of  the  martyrs  of  Jesus,  is  represented  as 
sitting-  on  the  scarlet-colored  beast,  with  seven  heads 
and  ten  horns.  This  must  be  old  Pagan  Rome, 
or  the  crreat  Red  Drai^on  with  seven  heads  and  ten 
horns,  that  formerly  persecuted  the  Church.  The 
persecuting"  woman  has  come  in  his  place,  has  received 
his  power,  and  sits  in  his  seat. 

3.  The  seven  heads  are  explained  to  be  "  the  seven 
mountains,  on  which  the  woman  sitteth,"  It  is  known 
that  the  ancient  city  of  Rome  was  built  on  seven  hills 
or  mountains.  This  settles  the  question  as  to  where, 
or  what  was  to  be  the  seat  of  the  persecuting  power, 
spoken  of  both  by  Daniel  and  John. 

4.  John  describes  the  woman  as  /}(//  of  names  of 
blasphemy,  and  as  drunken  with  tlie  blooel  of  the  saints, 
corresponding  exactly  with  Daniel's  description,  that 
this  persecuting  power  should  speak  ''great  woi'ds 
against  the  Most  High,  and  should  wear  out  the  saints 
of  the  Most  Highr 

The  marks  and  characteristics  above  enumerated, 
as  belonging  to  that  persecuting  power  which  was  tc 
arise,  are  of  such  a  nature  as  to  leave  no  doubt  in 
the  mind  of  any  candid  inquirer,  as  to  the  identity  of 
that  power. 

Daniel  and  John  not  only  foretold  the  rise  of  thii- 
power,  but  they  predicted,  with  equal  clearness,  the 
destruction  thereof,  after  the  lapse  of  a  certain  period 
defined  by  Daniel  as  a  time,  and  times,  and  the  divid- 
ing  of  time;  and  by  John,  as  a  time,  and  times,  and 
half  a  time,  or  a  thousand  two  hundred  and  sixty 
days;  all  of  which  express  the  same  length  of  dura- 
tion, or  1260  prophetic  years. 


THE    UNFULFILLED    PROPHECIES.  ^13 

The  man  of  sin  is  doomed.  Daniel  said,  "But  the 
judgment  shall  sit,  and  they  shall  take  away  his  do- 
minion, to  consume  and  to  destroy  it  unto  the  end." 
Paul,  speaking  in  reference  to  the  same  event,  says : 

"  Let  no  man  deceive  you  by  any  means,  for  that 
day  shall  not  come,  except  there  come  a  falling  away 
first,  and  that  man  of  sin  be  revealed  the  son  of  per- 
dition, who  opposeth  and  exalteth  himself  above  all 
that  is  called  God,  showing  himself  that  he  is  God. 
Remember  ye  not  that  when  I  was  with  you,  I  told 
you  these  things  ?  And  now,  ye  know  what  with- 
holdeth  that  he  might  be  revealed  in  his  time.  For 
the  .mystery  of  iniquity  doth  already  work;  only  he 
who  now  letteth  will  let,  until  he  be  taken  out  of  the 
way.  And  then  shall  that  wicked  be  revealed  whom 
the  Lord  shall  consume  with  the  spirit  of  His  mouth, 
and  shall  destroy  ivith  the  brightness  of  His  coming, 
even  him  whose  coming  is  after  the  working  of  Satan, 
with  all  power,  and  signs,  and  lying  w^onders." 

The  expressions  made  use  of,  seem  to  us,  to  indicate 
a  destruction  that  is  to  be  terribly  sudden,  and  terribly 
conspicuous,  known  to  the  intelligent  world,  or 
w^herever  the  sun  of  creation  shines. 

But  John,  in  the  Apocalypse,  is  much  more  full  as  to 
the  awful  catastrophe,  that  awaits  modern  Rome,  that 
has  the  blood  of  so  many  millions  of  God's  saints  on 
her  garments.  Their  souls  are  at  rest  beneath  God's 
altar,  and  while  they  are  clothed  in  white,  their  cry, 
"how  long,  O  Lord,  holy  and  true,  dost  thou  not  judge 
and  aven-e  our  blood  on  them  that  dwell  on  the 
earth,"  w\\\  be  answered,  and  accomplished  at  the  pre- 
destined hour!  We  believe  that  the  judgment  which 
is  to  smite  that  powder,  is  to  be  so  overwhelming,  so 


214  MOSES    AND   THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

sudden,  and  manifest  to  the  worltl,  as  to  make  it,  per- 
haps, the  most  awful  and  subhme  display  of  retribu- 
tive justice,  since  the  universal  deluge.  Let  us  read 
what  John  says : 

"And  after  these  thino^s  I  saw  another  aneel  come 
down  from  heaven  havinj^  j^reat  power ;  and  the  earth 
was  lightened  with  liis  glory.  And  he  cried  mightily 
with  a  strong  voice,  saying,  Bab\lon  the  Great  is 
fallen,  is  fallen,  and  is  become  the  habitation  of  devils, 
and  the  liold  of  every  loul  spirit,  and  a  cage  of  every 
unclean  and  hurtful  bird.  For  all  nations  have  drunk 
of  the  wine  .of  the  wrath  of  her  fornication,  and  the 
kings  of  the  earth  have  committed  fornication  with 
her,  and  the  merchants  of  the  earth  are  waxed  rich 
through  the  abundance  of  her  delicacies.  And  I 
heard  another  voice  from  heaven,  sa)ing,  come  out 
of  her,  my  people,  that  ye  be  not  partaker  of  her  sins, 
and  that  ye  receive  not  her  plagues.  For  her  sins 
have  reached  unto  heaven,  and  God  hath  numbered 
her  iniquities.  Reward  her  even  as  she  rewarded 
you.  and  double  unto  her  double  iiccording  to  her 
w^orks ;  in  the  cup  which  she  hath  filled,  fill  to  her 
double.  How^  much  she  hath  glorified  herself,  and 
lived  deliciously,  so  much  torment  and  sorrow  give 
her;  for  she  saith  in  her  heart,  I  sit  a  queen,  and  am 
no  widow,  and  shall  see  no  sorrow.  Therefore,  shall 
her  plagues  come  in  one  day,  death,  and  mourning, 
and  famine;  and  she  sh.-.l!  be  utterly  burned  with  fire; 
for  stroncr  is  the  Lord  God  who  iud^ieth  her.  And 
the  kings  of  the  earth  who  have  committed  fornica- 
tion, and  lived  deliciously  with  her,  shall  bewail  her, 
and  lament  for  her,  when  they  shall  see  the  smoke  of 
her  burning,  standing  afar  off  for  the  fear  of  her  tor- 
ment, saying,  Alas,  alas,  that  great  city  Babylon,  that 
mighty  city!   for  in  one  hour  is  th\'  jud^iment  come." 

"The  merchants  made   ricli  by  her,  shall  stand  afar 


THE    UNFULFILLED    PROPHECIES.  215' 

off,  for  the  fear  of  her  tornient,  weeping,  and  waiUng. 
and  saying,  alas,  alas,  that  great  city  that  was  clothed 
in  fine  linen,  and  purple,  and  scarlet,  and  decked  with 
gold,  and  precious  stones,  and  pearls !  For  in  one 
hour  so  great  riches  is  come  to  nought.  And  every 
shipmaster,  and  all  the  company  in  ships,  and  sailors, 
and  as  many  as  trade  by  sea,  stood  afar  off,  and  cried 
when  they  saw  the  smoke  ol  her  burning,  saying,  what 
city  is  like  unto  this  great  city  !  And  they  cast  dust 
on  their  heads  and  cried,  weeping,  and  wailing,  saying, 
alas,  alas,  that  great  city  wherein  were  made  rich  all 
that  had  ships  in  the  sea,  by  reason  of  her  costliness  ! 
for  in  one  hour  is  she  made  desolate.  Rejoice  over 
her,  thou  heaven,  and  ye,  holy  apostles  and  prophets, 
for  God  hath  avenged  you  on  her.  And  a  mighty 
angel  took  up  a  stone,  like  a  great  millstone,  and  cast 
it  into  the  sea,  sa\ing,  thus,  with  violence,  shall  that 
great  city  Babylon  be  thrown  down,  and  shall  be  found 
no  more  at  all.  And  the  voice  of  harpers,  and  musi- 
cians, and  of  pipers,  and  trumpeters  shall  no  more  be 
heard  at  all  in  thee  ;  and  no  craftsnian,  of  whatsoever 
craft  he  be,  shall  be  found  any  more  in  thee  ;  and  the 
sound  of  a  millstone  shall  be  heard  no  more  at  all  in 
thee  ;  and  the  light  of  a  candle  shall  shine  no  more  at 
all  in  thee  ;  and  the  voice  of  the  bridegroom  and  the 
bride  shall  be  heard  no  more  at  all  in  thee  ;  for  thy 
merchants  were  the  great  men  of  the  earth  ;  for  by 
thy  sorceries  were  all  nations  deceived.  And  in  her 
was  found  the  blood  of  prophets  and  of  saints,  and  of 
all  that  were  slain  upon  the  earth." 

Nowhere  in  the  sacred  volume,  nor  in  any  other 
book  can  there  be  found  a  denunciation  of  woe  and 
vengeance  to  be  paralleled  with  this,  in  the  Eighteenth 
Chapter  of  Revelation.  And  we  do  not  believe  that 
it  is  without  significance,  or  that  it  contains  an  exag- 
gerated   statement.      When    strong    metaphors    are 


5l6  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

employed  in  the  Scriptures,  it  is  only  because  natural 
language  cannot  convey  the  intense  mcaninLj;-  signified 
by  the  metaphors.  There  is  a  fearful  judi^ment  about 
to  come  on  Babylon. 

Tile  crimes  of  the  first  Babylon  were  nothing-  in 
comparison  with  the  crimes  of  the  modern  Babylon. 
But  the  doom  of  the  first  Babylon,  through  history, 
for  centuries  has  uttered  a  voice  that  nations  should 
have  regarded.  Babylon,  the  glory  of  kingdoms,  with 
her  hanging  gardens  and  walls  sixty  miles  in  circum- 
ference, and  three  hundred  feet  high — built  by  Ne- 
buchadnezzar, who  spent  twenty  years,  and  employed 
a  million  of  men  in  the  work — Babylon,  the  grandest, 
proudest  city  the  sun  ever  shined  on,  fell  under  a  ju- 
dicial sentence  of  Divine  wrath,  and  what  is  it  to-day  ? 
And  what  has  it  been  for  centuries?  Every  traveller 
in  the  East,  has  written  the  story  of  her  utter  ruin  and 
desolation. 

The  old  Babylon  was  to  be  blotted  out — v.-iped 
from  the  face  of  the  earth.  It  was  never  more  to  be 
inhabited,  nor  dwelt  in,  from  generation  to  generation  ; 
and  the  decree  has  been  accomplished.  Init  the  de- 
cree concerning  the  modern  or  the  mystic  Babylon,  is 
recorded  with  equal  clearness  and  distinctness,  as  that 
against  the  first  Babylon,  but  the  terrible  emphasis 
placed  on  the  decree  of  judgment  denounced  against 
the  later  Babylon,  Is  as  much  greater  than  that  against 
the  old  Babylon,  as  the  crimes  of  the  latter  were  ex- 
ceeded by  those  of  the  former. 

We  do  not  assume  that  we  can  comprehend  all  that 
is  contained  in  this  Eighteenth  Chapter  of  Revelation, 
but  we  are  certain  that  it  was  written  and  intended  to 


THE    UNFULFILLED    PROPHECIES.  21/ 

record  the  doom  of  that  "  Mystery  of  Iniquity  " — "the 
mother  of  harlots  and  abominations  of  the  earth  " — 
for  centuries  "drunken  with  the  blood  of  the  saints, 
and  with  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  of  Jesus  " — and  we 
are  equally  sure  that  when  it  shall  come  to  pass,  the 
world  itself  will  be  struck  with  awe  and  wonder,  at 
the  suddenness  and  the  terrible  justice  of  the  right- 
eous retribution.  Though  we  may  not  be  able  to  give 
to  each  word  in  this  chapter  its  appropriate  meaning, 
we  think  the  followinof  inferences,  or  conclusions,  are 
fairly  drawn  from  it,  viz. : 

I.  That  the  judgment  against  the  mystic  Babylon, 
in  whatever  form  it  shall  come,  will  be  sudden.  For, 
"  ?';z  one  hoiu%'  repeatedly  it  is  written,  "thy  judgment 
is  come." 

II.  That  it  shall  take  place  at  the  expiration  of  the 
predicted  time — the  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  pro- 
phetic days,  or  years,  according  to  both  Daniel  and 
John — which  period  is  now  already  expired,  or  is  just 
about  to  expire,  according  to  our  most  reliable  com- 
mentators. 

III.  That  the  suddenness  of  the  judgment  will  not 
involve  the  destruction  of  any  of  God's  people,  who 
may  be  dwelling  in  the  modern  Babylon,  at  the  time 
of  its  overthrow.  For  there  is  a  warning  voice, 
"  Come  out  of  her,  my  people,  that  ye  be  not  par- 
takers of  her  sins,  and  that  ye  receive  not  her 
plagues."  And  there  shall  be  some  providential  in- 
dication ;  and,  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem,  they  shall  flee  out  of  her,  and  escape. 

IV.  The  judgment  of  the  mystic  Babylon  will  be 
not  only  sudden,  but  accomplished  by  violence.     This 


2lS  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

is  indicated  by  the  figure  of  tlie  anoel  taking  up  a 
stone,  lii<e  a  great  millstone,  and  casting  it  into  the 
sea,  and  saying,  "thus,  with  violence,  shall  that  great 
city,  Babylon,  be  thrown  down,  and  shall  be  found  no 
more  at  all." 

\'.  The  downfall  of  the  modern  Babylon  will  not  be 
a  slow  and  gradual  w^ork,  like  that  of  the  former 
Babylon  ;  but  it  shall  be  so  swift,  and  accomjjanied 
by  such  outward  and  material  signs  of  wrath  and 
judgment,  as  to  impress  the  minds  of  people  with  a 
sense  of  awe,  at  the  righteous  display  of  the  retribu- 
tions of  heaven.  This  is  sufficiently  indicated  by  the 
repeated  expressions,  that,  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and 
the  merchants  who  had  traded  with  her,  standing  afar 
off  for  fear,  weeping  and  vailing  because  of  her,  are 
to  cry,  "alas,  alas,  that  great  city,  that  mighty  city! 
for  in  one  hour  her  destruction  is  come."  When  the 
event  shall  take  place,  the  manner  of  it  will  be  such 
as  to  make  it  known  at  once,  from  one  extremity  of 
the  globe  to  the  other. 

VI.  We  know  not  certain!)',  nor  defmitely.  what  the 
mann^jr  of  this  judgment  is  to  be  ;  but  there  are  some 
plain  intimations  in  the  word,  as  there  are  striking  in- 
dications in  nature,  which  go  to  confirm  us  in  the  belief 
that  it  will  be  h\  fire  and  earthquake — "  She  shall  be  ut- 
terly burned  with  fire  ;  "  "  and  they  shall  bewail  her  and 
lament  for  her,  when  they  shall  see  the  smoke  of  her 
burning" — "and  they  cried  when  they  saw  the  smoke 
of  her  burning,  saying,  what  city  is  like  unto  this 
great  city!"  The  indications  of  nature  are  found  in 
the  wf'll-known  ireolocrical  fact  iliat  Rome  is  built  in  a 
volcanic    region,  and   stands   at   this    moment,  in   all 


THE    UNFULFILLED    PROPHECIES.  219 

probability,  over  a  sea  of  incandescent  volcanic  matter. 
And  what  mind  of  man  can  foresee  how  soon  that 
melted  mass  of  liquid  fire  may  be  poured  forth  from 
Vesuvius,  or  burst  forth  from  some  new  volcano,  and 
let  the  whole  region  around  about  Rome  sink  down  for- 
ever beneath  the  waves  of  the  Mediterranean.  Such 
an  occurrence  would  not  be  out  of  the  laws  of  nature. 
Herculaneum  and  Pompeii  were  overwhelmed  and 
submerged  eighteen  centuries  ago,  by  these  subterra- 
nean fires.  And  these  fires  are  still  burning,  as 
evinced,  occasionally,  by  unmistakable  signs  from 
.^tna  and  Vesuvius.  Two  other  towns  in  the  Medi- 
terranean region,  have  been  suddenly  submerged  in 
the  history  of  modern  times,  by  the  same  causes. 

It  is  a  mysterious  fact  that  while  all  the  oldest  vol- 
canoes have  been  burned  out,  and  become  extinct,  the 
fires  of  ^tna  and  Vesuvius  are  still  kept  alive.  It 
must  be  that  the  fuel  that  keeps  them  alive  is  not  ex- 
hausted. Why  has  it  burned  so  long  without  being 
all  consumed  ? 

The  Mystic  Babylon  is  to  be  destroyed.  We  could 
not  doubt  that  without  discrediting  the  infallible  word. 
In  whatever  way  the  threatened  judgment  shall  come, 
it  is  to  make  such  a  moral  impression  as  to  the  truth 
of  God's  word,  and  the  righteousness  of  His  retribu- 
tions, that  all  the  nations  shall  see  and  acknowledo-e 
His  hand  in  it.  And  especially  those  nations  which 
had  trafficked  with  her,  Italy,  Spain,  France,  Portugal, 
and  others,  which  had  bought  her  indulgences  and 
paid  millions  for  mass  and  holy  relics,  whereby  she 
had  been  enriched  by  them,  shall  be  so  impressed  and 
overwhelmed  by  the  visible  and  awful  judgment  that 


220  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

they  will  be  convinced,  and  shall  trade  with  her  no 
more  forever — "  for  no  man  buycth  her  merchandise 
any  more." 

Perhaps  nothing-  less  than  some  such  visible  mani- 
festation of  the  Divine  displeasure,  could  produce  a 
world-wide  impression  like  this.  The  one  hundred 
and  fifty  million  deluded  votaries  of  Rome,  are  to  be 
reclaimed  from  their  blindness  and  superstition.  And 
what  could  more  effectually  do  this,  than  to  let  Rome 
sinkdoun,suddenly,outof  sight  forever;  "  in  one  hour," 
as  the  Revelator  says;  to  "become  the  habitation  of 
devils ; "  "  for  strong  is  the  Lord  God,  who  judgeth  her." 

We  have  only  this  to  say  in  conclusion,  that,  in 
whatever  way  the  end  of  this  persecuting  power  is  to 
come,  it  is  an  event  that  is  to  precede  the  advent  of 
the  millennial  age.  In  the  Eleventh  Chapter,  we  read 
that  when  the  two  witnesses  have  finished  their  testi- 
mony, they  are  taken  up  into  heaven  ;  and  after  that 
there  is  a  great  earthquake,  and  "  a  tenth  part  of  the 
city  fell,  and  in  the  earthquake  were  slain  of  men 
seven  thousand  ;  and  the  remnant  were  affrighted,  and 
gave  glory  to  the  God  of  heaven," 

Whatever  we  understand  the  two  witnesses  to  sig- 
nify, it  is  certain  their  period  of  1260  days  synchron- 
izes with  the  period  of  the  Mystery  of  sin,  and  is  to 
terminate  at  the  same  time.  Then  the  earthquake, 
or  the  terrible  convulsion  is  to  occur,  when  a  part  of 
the  men  are  to  be  destroyed  and  the  remainder  shall 
be  affrighted,  and  give  glory  to  God.  Then  comes  the 
consummation,  which  is  thus  stated  : 

"The  second  wo  is  past,  and,  behold,  the  third  wo 
cometh    quickly.     And    the    seventh   angel   sounded, 


THE   UNFULFILLED    PROPHECIES.  221 

and  there  were  great  voices  in  heaven,  saying,  The 
kincfdoms  of  this  world  are  become  the  kingdoms  of 
our  Lord,  and  of  His  Christ." 

All  things  are  tending  toward  this  consummation — 
the  universal  dominion  of  Jesus.  Only  two  serious 
obstacles  are  now  standing  in  the  way — the  unbelief 
of  the  Jews,  and  the  spiritual  despotism  of  the  anti- 
Christ.  When  these  shall  be  removed  out  of  the  way 
— or  when  the  Jews  shall  be  converted  through  the 
outpouring  of  the  Spirit  on  the  House  of  David,  and 
the  Spiritual  Babylon  shall  be  judged,  then  the  angel 
having  the  everlasting  Gospel  to  preach,  shall  quicken 
his  flight  through  the  midst  of  heaven,  proclaiming 
that  "the  kino-doms  of  this  world  are  become  the  kine- 
doms  of  our  Lord,  and  of  His  Christ."  "Amen,  even 
so,  come,  Lord  Jesus." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  End  of  tJic  World,  and  of  the  Gospel  Dispensation. 

Views  of  scientists  as  to  the  future  of  our  globe— ^Tiiey  can  tell  noihinj; — What 
Peler  says — The  consummation  attended  by  two  j^reat  events — First,  the  gen- 
eral reMurrection  of  the  dead — The  Sadducees'  unbelief — Christ's  syllogistic 
argument  against  them — Proofs  from  the  Old  Testament — Job,  Isaiah,  Daniel 
— From  the  New  Testament — Argument  from  analogy — The  chrysalis — Iden- 
tity of  bodies  in  the  resurrection — A  germinal  principle  that  never  dies — 
Consciousness  and  experience — Second,  a  general  judgment — The  separate 
existence — "Aijsent  from  the  body,  present  with  the  Lord " — The  general 
judgment  just  after  the  Resurrection — The  public  exhibition  of  God's  justice — 
The  Hooks — Resurrection  of  the  just  first — The  Living  saints  changed — Then 
conies  the  resurrection  of  the  wicked — Then  the  final  conflagration — The  new 
heavens  and  new  earth — "  Every  tongue  shall  confess  " — The  final  impression 
— God's  justice  vindicated, 

NATURAL  philosophers  can  give  no  intelligible 
account  of  the  origin  of  the  present  system 
of  things,  neither  can  they  tell  anything  as  to  the 
future  of  this  cflobe  on  which  we  dwell,  or  of  the  ma- 
terial  system  to  which  it  belongs.  Whether  it  has 
within  it  the  elements  of  its  own  perpetuity,  or  whether 
it  is  to  come  to  an  end,  they  know  not. 

There  are  those  claiming  to  be  scientists,  who  prog- 
nosticate the  dissolution  of  the  present  frame  of  things, 
while  others,  who  appear  to  be  equally  learned  and 
scientific,  see  no  signs  of  dissolution,  and  no  causes 
in  operation  on  which  to  base  such  a  calculation. 
(222) 


THE    END    OF    THE    WORLD.  223 

Professor  Proctor,  in  one  of  his  astronomical  lec- 
tures, said : 

"When  man,  the  inventor  of  many  machines,  which 
are  using  up  the  supplies  of  coal — when  man  insists 
upon  using  the  materials  of  the  earth  at  such  a  rapid 
rate,  we  begin  to  see  our  way  towards  the  end.  By 
that  means,  it  seems  to  me,  animal  life  will  come  to  an 
end  long  before  those  material  physical  processes,  by 
which  astronomers  see  that  the  earth  is  passing  to- 
ward its  end.  We  see  that  the  earth  is  parting  with 
its  internal  heat  ;  that  the  great  central  sun  must,  in 
the  lono;  run,  draw  down  to  the  stacre,  when  it  will  no 
longer  have  that  great  supply  of  heat  which  he  now 
possesses. 

"  We  find,  then,  the  earth  gradually  tending  toward 
the  end. 

"We  have  traced  the  earth  towards  its  final  condi- 
tion. We  look  to  the  Solar  system,  and  find  also  a 
tendency  towards  a  final  condition.  The  sun  at  least 
will  gradually  part  with  its  internal  heat,  and  we  may 
look  forward  to  a  long  period,  during  wliich  the  sur- 
face of  the  sun  will  be  fit  for  habitation,  simply  because 
it  retains,  and  will  retain,  enouirh  of  its  former  heat  to 
be  in  a  habitable  condition." 

Another  scientist,  as  well  qualified  as  Professor 
Proctor,  to  theorize  on  matters  of  this  kind,  has  a 
theory  totally  the  reverse  of  the  one  just  given.  In 
a  work  entided  "Playfairs  Hutton,"  which  is  the  pro- 
ducdon  certainly  of  a  philosophic  mind,  we  find  the 
followincr  concession: 

"The  Author  of  nature  has  not  given  laws  to  the 
universe,  which,  like  the  institutions  of  men,  carry,  in 
themselves,  the  elements  of  their  own  destruction. 
He  has  not  permitted,  in  His  works,  any  symptoms 
of  infancy  or  of  old  age,  or  any  signs  by  which  we  may 


224  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

estimate  cither  their  future  or  their  past  duration.  He 
may  put  an  end,  as  He  no  doubt  gave  a  beginning, 
to  the  present  system  at  some  determinate  period  of 
time;  but  we  may  rest  assured  that  this  great  catas- 
trophe will  not  be  brought  about  by  the  laws  now  ex- 
isting, and  that  it  is  not  indicated  by  anything  which 
we  perceive." 

These  extracts  are  sufficient  to  indicate  the  truth 
of  our  affirmation  that  philosophers,  who  are  guided 
by  nothing  but  the  feeble  and  uncertain  light  of  their 
own  intellect,  are  wholly  incompetent  either  to  show 
the  origin  of  the  present  system  of  things,  or  to  pre- 
dict its  final  and  future  destiny.  To  know  anything 
definitely,  or  with  certainty  on  this  subject,  we  must 
learn  it  from  the  Revelation  of  Him  who  is  the  Author 
of  nature,  and  who  ordained  all  the  laws  by  which  the 
frame  of  the  visible  universe  is  upheld. 

Now  let  us  listen,  not  to  what  human  philosophers 
say,  but  to  what  God  says,  in  Peter: 

"For  this  they  willingly  are  ignorant  of,  that  by 
the  Word  of  God,  the  heavens  were  of  old,  and  the 
earth  standing  out  of  the  water,  and  in  the  water; 
whereby  the  world  that  then  was,  being  overflowed 
with  water,  perished  ;  but  the  heavens  and  the  earth 
which  are  now,  by  the  same  word  are  kept  in  store, 
reserved  unto  fire  against  the  day  of  judgment  and 
perdition  of  ungodly  men.  But,  beloved,  be  not  ignor- 
ant of  this  one  thing,  that  one  da)-  is  with  the  Lord  as 
a  thousand  years,  and  a  thousand  years  as  one  day. 
The  Lord  is  not  slack  concerning  His  promise,  as 
some  men  count  slackness  ;  but  is  long-suffering  to 
us-ward;  not  willing  that  any  should  perish,  but  that 
all  should  come  to  repentance. 

"But  the  day  of  the  Lord  will  come  as  a  thief  in  the 


THE    END    OF    THE    WORLD,  22$ 

night,  in  the  which  the  heavens  shall  pass  away  with 
a  great  noise,  and  the  elements  shall  melt  with  fervent 
heat;  the  earth  also,  and  the  works  that  are  therein, 
shall  be  burned  up.  Seeing  then,  that  all  these  things 
shall  be  dissolved,  what  manner  of  persons  ought  ye 
to  be,  in  all  holy  conversation  and  godliness?  Never- 
theless, we,  according  to  His  promise,  look  for  new 
heavens,  and  a  new  earth,  wherein  dwelleth  rip-hteous- 
ness." 

In  this  passage  two  things  are  set  forth  with  equal 
clearness,  viz. :  the  destruction  of  the  old  world  by 
water,  and  the  destruction  of  the  present  earth  by  the 
fires  of  the  last  day.  No  one  who  even  professes  to 
receive  the  Scriptures  of  truth  as  the  Word  of  God, 
has  ever  doubted  either  of  these  propositions.  Chris- 
tians, in  all  ages,  have  believed  that  the  former  earth 
was  destroyed  by  the  waters  of  a  universal  deluge,  on 
account  of  the  wickedness  of  the  antediluvian  sinners; 
and  with  equal  unanimity,  they  have  believed  that 
the  present  globe  is  to  be  destroyed  by  fire,  at  the  end 
of  the  world.  If  these  two  ideas  are  not  contained  in 
the  Bible,  we  might  despair  of  ever  being  able  to 
ascertain  its  contents. 

The  consummation  of  thinors  on  the  theatre  of  this 
present  globe,  is  to  be  marked  with  two  great  events, 
much  insisted  on  in  the  word  of  God,  to  the  considera- 
tion of  which  this  chapter  is  to  be  mainly  devoted  ;  I 
refer  now  to  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  the  gen- 
eral judguieut  day.  These  are  matters  of  an  absorb- 
ing interest.  They  may  seem  to  be  events  that  are 
far  off  in  the  future,  and  may  not  affect  the  mind  much 
at  present.  But  if  there  is  a  word  of  truth  in  the 
Bible,  they  are  coming;  and  the  hour  hastens  when 
15 


226  MOSES    AND    THE    I'llILOSOPFIEKS. 

they  will  be  present  events,  and  all  born  of  Adam's 
race,  will  be  parties  personally  concerned  in  them,  and 
then  they  will  have  an  interest  such  as  no  other  events 
ever  possessed. 

The  General  Resurrection. 

And  first,  there  is  to  be  a  resurrection  of  the  bodies 
of  all  men  from  their  graves  at  the  last  day.  This  is 
a  fundamental  article  of  faith  in  the  system  of  Chris- 
tianity. It  was  at  an  early  day  incorporated  into  the 
Apostle's  creed.  There  is  no  obscurity  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Scriptures  on  this  point.     Jesus  says: 

''Marvel  not  at  this ;  for  the  Jioiir  is  coviiiio^  in  the 
wJiich  all  that  are  in  the  graves  shall  hear  His  voice, 
and  shall  come  forth;  they  that  have  done  good  nnto  the 
resurrection  of  life,  and  they  that  have  done  evil,  unto  the 
resurrection  of  daninationl' 

There  was  a  sect  among-  the  Jews,  the  Sadducees, 
who  denied  the  doctrine  of  a  resurrection.  On  a 
certain  occasion  they  came  to  our  Saviour,  to  tempt 
Him  with  a  difficult  question  on  this  subject.  The 
evaneelist  thus  states  the  circumstance: 


& 


"The  same  day  came  to  }lim  the  Sadducees,  which 
say,  that,  there  is  no  resurrection,  and  asked  Him, 
saying,  Master,  Moses  said,  if  a  man  die,  having  no 
children,  his  brother  shall  marry  his  wife,  and  raise  up 
seed  unto  his  brother.  Now,  there  were  w'ith  us 
seven  brethren  ;  and  the  first,  when  he  had  married  a 
wife,  deceased  ;  and  having  no  issue,  left  his  wife  unto 
his  brother.  Likewise  the  second  also,  and  the  third 
unto  the  seventh.  And,  last  of  all,  the  woman  died 
also.     Therefore,  in  the  resurrection,  whose  wife  shall 


THE   END   OF   THE   WORLD.  227 

she  be  of  the  seven  ?  for  they  all  had  her.  Jesus  an- 
swered, and  said  unto  them,  ye  do  err,  not  knowing 
the  Scriptures,  nor  the  power  of  God.  For  in  the 
Resurrection,  they  neither  marry,  nor  are  given  in 
marriage,  but  are  as  the  angels  of  God  in  heaven. 
But,  as  touching  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  have 
ye  not  read  that  wdiich  was  spoken  by  God,  saying:  I 
am  the  God  of  Abraham,  and  the  God  of  Isaac,  and 
the  God  of  Jacob  ?  God  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead ; 
but  of  the  living." 

Here  is  a  syllogistic  argument,  specially  framed  by 
Jesus,  for  the  express  purpose  of  rebuking  the  Sad- 
ducees  for  their  unbelief  They  had  the  writings  of 
Moses,  and  pretended  to  believe  in  those  writings  ; 
but  Jesus  shows  them  that  if  they  had  really  believed 
them,  they  could  not  have  denied  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead. 

The  Pharisees,  who  were  much  the  more  numerous 
and  popular  sect  among  the  Jews,  believed  in  the  doc- 
trine of  the  resurrection,  as  taught  in  the  Scriptures 
of  the  Old  Testament. 

It  Is  to  be  confessed  that  life  and  immortality  are 
more  clearly  brought  to  light  in  the  gospel,  than  in  the 
Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament.  But  this  is  not  to 
say  that  the  doctrine  of  a  future  life,  and  of  the  res* 
urrection,  was  not  taught,  and  never  desio-ned  to  be 
taught  under  the  old  dispensation.  To  suppose  this 
would  be  to  place  ourselves,  In  point  of  scepticism, 
on  a  level  with  the  old  unbelieving  Sadducees,  whom 
Jesus  reproved  for  their  want  of  faith  In  the  Word  of 
God  as  contained  in  the  Old  Testament.     Job  says: 

"O  that  my  words  were  w-rltten  ;  O  that  they  were 


228  MOSIiS   AM)   Till-:    PHn.(3SOPHERS. 

printed  in  a  book  ;  that  they  were  graven  with  an  iron 
pen  and  lead  in  the  rock  forever  !  For  I  know  that 
my  Redeemer  liveth,  and  that  He  shall  stand  at  the 
latter  day  upon  the  earth  ;  and  though  after  my  skin 
worms  destroy  this  body ;  yet  in  my  tlesh  shall  I  see 
God ;  whom  I  shall  see  for  myself,  and  mine  ey^s 
shall  behold,  and  not  another;  though  my  reins  be 
consumed  within  me." 

This  has  ever  been  regarded  as  a  beautiful  pro- 
phetic description  of  the  Advent  of  the  Redeemer  in 
the  flesh,  as  well  as  of  the  future  resurrection  of  the 
bodies  of  all  the  saints.  According  to  the  prayer  of 
Job,  his  words  have  been  written  in  a  Book,  as  indeli- 
bly as  if  engraven  "  with  an  iron  pen  and  lead  in  the 
rock  forever."     David  said  : 

"Therefore,  my  heart  is  glad,  and  my  glory  re- 
joiceth  ;  my  llesh  also  shall  rest  in  hope ;  for  thou 
wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell ;  neither  w'ilt  thou  suffer 
thine  holy  one  to  see  corruption." 

As  expounded  by  Peter,  this  pious  utterance  of  the 
Psalmist,  was  verified  in  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
from  the  dead.  But  the  phrase :  *'  My  flesh  shall  rest 
in  hope,"  has  a  more  general  significance,  and  may 
refer  to  David  as  well  as  to  the  Son  of  David,  and  to 
every  saint  who  falls  asleep  in  Jesus, 

In  Isaiah,  we  find  a  most  remarkable  passage  w^hich 
cannot  be  understood  otherwise,  than  as  having  refer- 
ence to  the  final  resurrection  of  the  dead.  He  says, 
in  strains  of  holy  poesy,  which,  for  its  beautiful  im- 
agery, none  of  the  uninspired  poets  of  this  world 
have  ever  equalled  : 

"Thy  dead  men  shall  live;  together  widi  my  dead 


THE    END    OF    THE    WORLD.  229 

body  shall  they  arise.  Awake  and  sing,  ye  that  dwell 
in  dust ;  for  thy  dew  is  as  the  dew  of  herbs,  and  the 
earth  shall  cast  out  the  dead.  Come,  my  people, 
enter  thou  into  thy  chambers,  and  shut  thy  doors 
about  thee  ;  hide  thyself,  as  it  were  for  a  little  mo- 
ment, until  the  indignation  be  overpast.  For,  behold, 
the  Lord  cometh  out  of  His  place  to  punish  the  in- 
habitants of  the  earth  for  their  iniquity ;  the  earth 
also  shall  disclose  her  blood,  and  shall  no  more  cover 
her  slain." 

At  the  thought  of  his  own  future  resurrection,  and 
that  of  the  rest  of  the  sleeping  dead,  the  holy  pro- 
phet seems  to  catch  the  fire  of  heavenly  inspiration, 
and  bursts  forth  into  one  of  the  boldest,  and  most 
beautiful  apostrophes  ever  uttered  by  mortal  lips — 
it  is  an  apostrophe  to  the  sleeping  dead — "  awake  and 
sing,  ye  that  dwell  in  dust."  But  why  should  they 
awake  and  sing  ?  There  is  a  good  reason — "  for  thy 
dew  is  as  the  dew  of  herbs  ;  and  the  earth  shall  cast 
out  the  dead."  As  the  dews  of  the  night  moisten  the 
soil,  and  cause  the  germs  of  the  buried  seeds  to  spring 
forth,  putting  on  an  appearance  of  new  life  and  beauty, 
so,  after  the  rains  and  dews  of  the  night  of  ages  have 
watered  the  graves  of  the  dead,  the  germinal  prin- 
ciple of  immortality  contained  in  them,  under  the 
power  of  God,  shall  take  root ;  and  they  shall  come 
forth  to  newness  of  life,  "  and  the  earth  shall  cast  out 
the  dead." 

And  then,  carried  still  farther  aloft,  if  possible,  on 
the  wing  of  inspiration  and  poesy,  he  invites  his  peo- 
ple to  this  rest  of  the  grave,  as  something  sweet  and 
pleasant,  as  compared  with  the  noise  and  din  of  arms 
and  strife,  going  on  all  around  in  the  world;  "Come, 


230  MOSES    AND    THK    I'll  ILOSOPHEKS. 

my  people,  enter  thou  into  thy  rest,  and  shut  thy 
doors  about  tliee  ;  hide  thyself" — it  will  be  but  for  a 
little  moment — it  may  be  the  sleep  of  a^es — but  it 
will  seem  at  last  only  as  a  little  moment,  when  the  in- 
dignation shall  be  overpast,  while  God  punished  the 
inhabitants  of  the  world  for  their  iniquity.  Then  "the 
earth  shall  no  more  cover  her  slain." 

I  select  but  one  other  passage  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, as  teachincf  the  doctrine  of  the  future  and 
ofeneral  resurrection  of  die  dead.  It  is  found  in 
Daniel : 

"And  many  (the  many,  or  the  multitude)  of  them 
that  sleep  in  the  dust  of  the  earth,  shall  awake,  some 
to  everlasting;  life,  and  some  to  shame  and  everlasting 
contempt.  And  they  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the 
brightness  of  the  firmament,  and  they  that  turn  many 
to  ri^rhteousness  as  the  stars  forever  and  ever." 

It  will  not  be  necessary  to  adduce  many  texts  from 
the  New  Testament,  in  confirmation  of  this  doctrine; 
for  there  is  a  reference  to  it,  and  it  is  taught,  direcdy 
or  indirectly,  in  almost  every  chapter.  But  I  will 
quote  two  passages,  of  such  a  nature  as  to  remove 
from  the  mind  of  every  Christian,  even  the  shadow 
of  a  doubt. 

In  the  First  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians,.Paul  says  : 

"But  I  would  not  have  )-ou  to  be  ignorant,  brethren, 
concerning  them  which  are  aslecj),  that  ye  sorrow  not 
even  as  others  which  have  no  hope.  For  if  we  believe 
that  Jesus  died  anrl  rose  again,  even  so  them  also 
which  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with  Ilim.  For 
this  w(-  say  unto  you  by  the  Word  of  the  Lord,  that 
we  which  are  alive  and   remain   unto  the  coming  of 


THE    END    OF    THE    WORLD.  23I 

the  Lord,  shall  not  prevent  them  which  are  asleep. 
For  the  Lord  Himself  shall  descend  from  heaven 
with  a  shout,  with  the  voice  of  the  archangel,  and 
with  the  trump  of  God;  and  the  dead  in  Christ  shall 
rise  first." 

In  the  Fifteenth  chapter  of  First  Corinthians,  the 
apostle  dwells  at  great  length  on  this  doctrine  of  the 
Resurrection.  He  gives  the  proof  of  it  from  the  resur- 
rection of  Christ,  and  from  the  analogy  of  nature,  and 
then  answers  objections: 

"  Now,  if  Christ  be  preached  that  He  rose  from  the 
dead,  how  say  some  among  you,  that  there  is  no 
resurrection  of  the  dead?  But  if  there  be  no  resur- 
rection of  the  dead,  then  is  Christ  not  risen.  And  if 
Christ  be  not  risen,  then  is  our  preachino"  vain,  and 
your  faith  is  also  vain.  Yea,  and  we  are  found  false 
witnesses  of  God  ;  because  we  have  testified  of  God, 
that  He  raised  up  Christ,  whom  He  raised  not  up,  if 
so  be  that  the  dead  rise  not.  For  if  the  dead  rise 
not,  then  is  not  Christ  raised.  And  if  Christ  be  not 
raised,  your  faith  is  vain  ;  ye  are  yet  in  your  sins. 
Then  they  also  which  are  fallen  asleep  in  Christ,  are 
perished.  If  in  this  life  only  we  have  hope,  we  are 
of  all  men  most  miserable.  But  now  is  Christ  risen 
from  the  dead  and  become  the  first-fruits  of  them  that 
slept.  For  since  by  man  came  death,  by  man  also 
came  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.  For  as  in  Adam 
all  die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive.  But 
every  man  in  his  own  order ;  Christ  the  first-fruits, 
afterward,  they  that  are  Christ's  at  His  coming.  Then 
cometh  the  end,  when  He  shall  have  delivered  up 
the  kingdom  to  God,  even  the  Father ;  when  He  shall 
have  put  down  all  rule,  and  all  authority  and  power. 
For  He  must  reign,  till  He  hath  put  all  enemies  under 
His  feet." 


232  MOSES    AND    TFIF    PHFLOSOPIIERS. 

The  apostle  proceeds  to  reason  from  analof:,'-y  upon 
the  siil)ject,  and  to  answer  objections.  He  anticipates 
the  modern  sceptic: 

"  But  some  man  will  say,  How  are  the  dead  raised 
up?  and  with  what  body  do  they  come?  Thou  fool, 
that  which  thou  sowest  is  not  quickened  except  it  die. 
And  that  which  thou  sowest,  thou  sowest  not  that  body 
that  shall  be,  but  bare  g-rain,  it  may  chance  of  wheat, 
or  some  other  <j;^rain.  But  God  giveth  it  a  body  as 
it  hath  pleased  Him,  and  to  every  seed  His  own 
body. 

"  One  star  diffcreth  from  another  star  in  glory. 
So  also  is  the  resurrection  of  the  dead;  it  is  sown  in 
corruption,  it  is  raised  in  incorruption  ;  it  is  sown  in 
dishonor,  it  is  raised  in  glory;  it  is  sown  in  weakness, 
it  is  raised  in  power;  it  is  sown  a  natural  body,  it  is 
raised  a  spiritual  body.  There  is  a  natural  body,  and 
there  is  a  spiritual  body." 

The  question,  "How  are  the  dead  raised  up?"  is 
often  asked  ;  and  is,  perhaps,  always  a  sign  of  unbelief, 
in  those  who  ask.  The  Sadducees  did  not  believe  in 
a  resurrection,  simply  because  they  could  not  under- 
stand how  it  is,  or  by  what  power  the  dead  are  raised 
up.  Christ  simply  told  them  that  they  did  not  know 
the  Scriptures  nor  the  power  of  God.  Could  not  He 
who  formed  the  body  at  first,  raise  it  from  the  dead? 

Paul  tells  us  to  look  at  nature.  We  put  our  seed 
— the  corn  or  the  wheat,  into  the  earth.  The  seeds 
die;  but  after  a  while,  there  come  up  from  the  dead 
seeds  other  forms  and  bodies,  totally  different  in  ap- 
pearance from  the  seeds  which  we  planted,  green  and 
beautiful,  shooting  forth  stalks  and  stems  that  seem 
to  rejoice  in   the  sunlight  as   they  sway  to  the  gentle 


THE    END    OF    THE    WORLD.  233 

breezes.  This  is  the  course  of  nature.  But  if  it  were 
not  the  course  of  nature — if  we  had  never  witnessed 
this  phenomenon,  we  should  not  beheve  it  to  be  any 
more  possible  than  the  resurrection  of  the  dead. 

The  chrysalis  that  comes  forth,  after  weeks  or 
months  of  apparent  death,  from  its  self-prepared  sep- 
ulchre, having  taken  on  a  new  and  far  more  beautiful 
form  of  existence,  affords  us  a  very  striking  emblem 
and  proof  of  our  own  future  resurrection.  A  distin- 
guished naturalist,  writing  about  the  habit  of  the 
common  butterfly,  says: 

"  Let  us  follow  the  butterfly  through  the  several 
stages  ot  its  existence.  Our  starting-point  is  a  dimin- 
utive and  almost  invisible  e^^g ;  from  this  comes  a 
worm  scarce  an  incli  long  at  maturity.  After  spending 
Its  appointed  days  in  this  prone  and  lowly  form,  it  lan- 
guishes ;  refuses  to  eat ;  ceases  to  move ;  becomes 
wrapped  in  a  silken  shroud;  this  soon  changes  into  a 
dusky  crust;  and  in  this,  as  in  its  coffln,  it  remains 
apparently  dead.  The  time  of  Its  sepulture,  usually 
six  or  seven  months,  having  passed  away,  it  begins 
to  acquire  new  life  and  vigor;  presently  It  bursts  open 
its  coffin  cell,  and  comes  forth,  no  longer,  however,  an 
offensive,  crawling  worm,  but  changed  and  fashioned 
Into  a  beauteous  butterfly,  furnished  with  limbs,  and 
wings,  and  decked  in  dowm  of  purple  and  gold.  It 
now  takes  rank  with  higher  and  a  superior  race  of 
beings;  it  mounts  the  air,  and  ranges  from  flower  to 
flower,  rising  in  exhilarating  flights  towards  the  glor- 
ious orb  of  day,  rejoicing  In  its  new  and  splendid 
existence." 

We  cannot  tell  how  these  changes  take  place ;  but 
we  know  that  there  Is  a  wisdom  and  a  power  apparent 
in   every  such  change,  that  Infinitely  transcends  our 


234  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

comprehension,  and  equal  to  tliat  whicli  will  be  requi- 
site to  transform  our  bodies,  and  raise  them  up  at  the 
last  day. 

I>ut  it  is  asked,  How  can  the  dust  of  one  body  be 
distinLi^uished  from  another  ;  when  the  dust  of  so  many, 
perhaps,  has  mingled  for  ages  in  a  common  grave ; 
and  others  were  consumed  in  flames  at  the  mart)T*s 
stake,  and  scattered  to  the  four  winds;  and  others 
were  dissolved  in  the  waters  of  the  seas,  and  washed 
by  the  waves  to  distant  shores ;  and  other  bodies  be- 
came food  for  wild  beasts,  and  their  flesh  was  digested 
and  went  to  form  the  flesh  of  lions  and  other  beasts 
of  prey  ? — they  ask,  how  will  all  these  bodies  be  dis- 
tinguished and  identified,  so  that  the  ashes  of  every 
one  sliall  be  collected,  and  reconstructed  into  the  new 
and  identical  bodies  of  the  resurrection,  so  that  God 
shall  know  tliem  all  apart,  and  so  that  each  saint  shall 
be  able  to  know  and  identify  his  own  body?  To 
this  we  can  only  answer,  in  the  words  of  Paul,  " tJioic 

fooir 

We  know  that,  in  planting  or  sowing,  the  seeds 
which  w^c  commit  to  the  soil,  perish.  We  know  that 
they  never  come  up  again  out  of  the  soil — that  they 
rot  and  decay,  and  become  manure  to  enrich  the  soil. 
But  we  know  equally  well,  that  there  is  a  germinal 
principle-  in  those  grains,  that  does  not  die,  but  springs 
out  of  those  seeds,  and  shoots  up  into  new  bodies. 
We  cannot  scrutinize  that  germinal  principle — we  can- 
not examine  it  with  a  microscope — it  is  too  impal- 
pable for  our  human  faculties  lo  investigate.  But  we 
know  that  it  must  be  in  the  seed,  and  that  it  must  have 
been  there  originally,  or  that  it  could   not  have  come 


THE    END    OF    THE    WORLD.  235 

out  of  It,  nor  been  developed  into  a  new  and  living 
form,  so  different  from  the  grain  that  was  buried  in  the 
ground.  The  forms  or  bodies  seem  to  be  different, 
and  yet  they  come  from  the  same  seeds,  and  they 
reproduce  themselves. 

Of  course,  this  is  all  entirely  beyond  our  comprehen- 
sion. Then  why  ask,  how  these  old  bodies  of  ours 
are  to  be  reconstructed  out  of  the  old  particles  ;  and 
how  the  dust  that  forms  them,  is  to  be  collected  to- 
gether after  being  blown  over  the  earth  for  ages,  so 
as  to  be  built  into  the  same  bodies  again  ? 

We  do  not  believe  that  there  will  be  any  diisl,  or 
anything  that  has  gravity  or  grossness,  in  the  bodies 
of  the  resurrection.  But  there  is  a  germinal  prin- 
ciple in  these  present  human  forms — the  naturalist 
cannot  analyze  it — cannot  with  his  instrunients  scru- 
tinize it,  or  tell  what  it  is — but  He  who  put  into  every 
grain  of  seed  its  vegetative  principle,  can  impart  to 
these  forms  of  humanity,  a  principle  that  insures  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead.  And  there  will  be  an  iden- 
tity between  the  bodies  that  perish,  and  the  bodies 
that  shall  be  raised,  though  all  the  original  particles 
be  not  the  same. 

We  can  take  an  illustration  of  this  from  the  fact 
that  the  same  bodies,  even  in  the  present  lifetime, 
are  not,  at  all  periods,  composed  of  the  same  particles 
of  matter.  Tell  any  aged  saint,  who  has  passed  his 
threescore  and  ten  years  in  the  service  of  his  Divine 
Lord,  and  who  is  about  to  cross  the  river  of  death, 
that  this  old  worn  out  body,  which  has  been  his  earthly 
tabernacle  so  long,  is  Jioi  tJic  body  which  is  to  be  raised 
up  in  the  resurrection  morn,  radiant  and  beautiful  like 


236  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOrilEKS. 

the  glorified  body  of  the  Saviour — and  he  might  say, 
No;  the  pains  and  the  aches  of  this  tottering  frame 
will  be  irone-^all  its  infirmities  will  be  crone — its  de- 
formities  will  be  gone — and  all  the  redundant,  opaque 
and  gross  particles  of  matter  will  be  gone — but  there 
is  something  in  it — a  principle  which  shall  be  the  germ 
or  nucleus  from  which  the  new  and  glorious  body 
shall  be  reconstructed  whereby,  he  might  say,  he 
knows  that  he  shall  be  able  to  recognize  it  as  his 
own  body. 

And  further,  he  mio;-ht  add  :  vou  tell  me  that  this 
old,  decayed  and  broken  frame,  which  is  soon  to  be 
food  for  the  worms  of  the  valley,  is  not  the  same  body 
I  had  in  youth  and  childhood — that  not  a  single  par- 
ticle of  matter  in  it,  is  the  same  as  that  which  com- 
posed my  youthful  and  more  vigorous  body — that  all 
the  matter  has  been  changed — has  passed  off  many 
times,  and  been  replaced  with  other  matter.  This 
may  be  so — and  doubtless  it  is  so — and  yet  I  recog- 
nize this  body  as  the  same  tabernacle  of  clay,  I  have 
dwelt  in  all  my  life  long.  I  cannot  realize  that  these 
eyes  are  not  the  same  windows  of  the  soul,  out  of 
which  I  was  accustomed  to  view  the  wonders  of  crea- 
tion, in  the  days  of  youth  and  childhood.  I  recognize 
these  hands  as  the  same  I  have  always  handled  with; 
and  these  feet  as  the  same  I  have  always  walked  with, 
in  travelling  the  journey  of  life.  I  am  conscious  of 
an  identity.  I  know  myself  My  voice  is  not  that  of 
another.  It  is  the  same  I  sung  and  prayed  with  when 
I  was  younger,  though  now  it  is  become  cracked  and 
broken.  I  have  a  consciousness  that  nothing  can 
deprive  me   of   that   I   am   the   same   person   I  have 


THE   END    OF   THE   WORLD,  237 

ever  been,  although  you  tell  me  that  the  matter  form- 
ing my  body,  is  entirely  new  matter.  There  is  a 
principle  In  it  that  does  not  change — what  it  is  I  do 
not  know,  and  I  cannot  tell — but  it  is  that  which  con- 
stitutes my  personal  identity,  and  insures  that,  in  the 
resurrection  I  shall  be  the  same  that  I  am  now^,  only 
changed,  in  all  things,  for  the  better. 

If  this  argument  from  experience  and  consciousness, 
is  valid,  it  shows  the  utter  fallacy  and  groundlessness 
of  the  objection  to  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection, 
arising  from  any  difficulty  in  supposing  a  sameness  or 
identity  between  the  bodies  that  perished,  and  those 
that  shall  be  raised.  The  objection  vanishes  at  once, 
into  thin  air,  when  we  understand  that  the  principle 
on  which  identity  depends — whatever  it  may  be — and 
we  cannot  define  it — remains  unchancred,  and  un- 
changeable,  and  passes  from  the  body  that  was  sown 
in  corruption,  into  that  which  shall  be  raised  in  incor- 
ruption. 

A  General  Judgment. 

The  General  yiidgment  is  the  other  grand  Event 
that  is  to  constitute  an  important  feature,  in  the  wind- 
ing up  of  the  affairs  of  this  material  globe.  The  poet 
has  apdy  said  of  that  general  judgment  day,  that  it  is 
*'  The  day  for  which  all  other  days  were  made." 

No  one  can  take  the  Scriptures  as  the  rule  of  his 
faith,  and  not  believe  that  God  hath  appointed  such  a 
day,  which  is  to  occur  at  the  end  of  the  world — when 
all  nations,  and  kindreds,  and  tribes,  and  toneues  are 
to  be  assembled  before  Him,  to  be  judged  and  sen- 
tenced according  to  the  deeds  done  in  the  body. 
Nothing  is  more  clearly  taught  than  this  great  and 


238  MOSES    AND    Till-:    PHILOSOPHERS. 

solemn  truth.  I  will  quote  several  of  the  more  prom- 
inent passages  in  which  it  is  declared.  Jesus  Himself 
said: 

"When  the  Son  of  man  shall  come  in  His  glory, 
and  all  the  holy  anL;"rls  with  Him,  then  shall  He  sit 
upon  the  throne  of  His  glory;  and  before  Him  shall 
be  gathered  all  nations,  and  He  shall  separate  them 
one  from  another,  as  a  shepherd  divideth  his  sheep 
from  the  goats.  And  He  shall  set  the  sheep  on  His 
right  hand,  but  the  goats  on  the  left.  Then  shall 
the  King  say  unto  them  on  His  right  hand,  Come, 
ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  pre- 
pared for  you  from  thc^  foundation  of  the  world. 

"He  shall  say  also  to  them  on  the  left  hand,  Depart 
from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for 
the  Devil  and  his  angels." 

No  honest  and  candid  inquirer  after  truth,  can  read 
the  whole  passage  from  which  the  above  words  have 
been  selected,  without  believing  that  it  was  spoken  by 
our  Saviour,  for  the  purpose  of  teaching  the  doctrine 
of  future  retribution — of  future  reward  and  punish- 
ment, to  be  meted  out  to  every  soul  according  to  the 
deeds  done  in  the  body.  The  same  idea  is  presented 
by  Christ,  in  His  exposition  of  the  parable  of  the 
tares  and  the  wheat : 

"The  disciples  came  unto  Him,  saying,  declare  unto 
us  the  parable  of  the  field.  He-  answered,  and  said 
unto  them  ;  He  that  soweth  the  good  seed  is  the  Son 
of  man  ;  the  field  is  the  world  ;  the  good  seed  arc  the 
children  of  the  kingdom  ;  but  the  tares  are  the  chil- 
dren of  the  wicked  one ;  the  enemy  that  sowed  them 
is  the  devil ;  the  harvest  is  the  end  of  the  world  ;  and 
the  reapers  are  the  angels.     As,  therefore,  the  tares 


THE    END    OF    THE   WORLD.  239 

are  gathered  and  burned  in  the  fire,  so  shall  it  be  in 
the  end  of  the  world.  The  Son  of  man  shall  send 
forth  His  angels,  and  they  shall  gather  out  of  His 
kincrdom  all  things  that  offend,  and  them  which  do  in- 
iquity,  and  shall  cast  them  into  a  furnace  of  fire  ;  there 
shall  be  wailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth.  Then  shall 
the  righteous  shine  as  the  sun  in  the  kingdom  of  their 
Father.     Who  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear." 

Here  aorain  the  idea  of  a  future  retribution  is  set 
forth.  And  the  figures  and  terms  made  use  of  to  in- 
culcate this  solemn  truth,  are  of  the  most  graphic 
kind.     "Who  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear." 

This  doctrine  of  retribution,  is  taught  also  in  the 
Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament.  Solomon  sums  up 
all  that  he  had  to  say  in  both  the  books  of  wisdom 
which  he  wrote,  in  these  significant  words,  which  are 
of  no  doubtful  meaning: 

"Let  us  hear  the  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter; 
fear  God  and  keep  His  commandments  ;  for  this  is  the 
whole  duty  of  man  ;  for  God  shall  bring  every  work 
into  judgment,  with  ever)/  secret  thing,  whether  it  be 
good,  or  whether  it  be  evil," 

Paul  said,  in  his  discourse  on  Mars  Hill,  to  the  Gre- 
cian philosophers,  who  were  the  men  of  science  and 
the  philosophic  infidels  of  that  day — "The  times  of 
this  ignorance  God  winked  at;  but  now  commandeth 
all  men  everywhere  to  repent.  Because  He  hath  ap- 
pointed a  day  in  the  which  He  will  judge  the  world  in 
righteousness,  by  that  man  whom  He  hath  ordained, 
whereof  He  hath  given  assurance  unto  all  men,  in 
that  He  hath  raised  Him  from  the  dead." 

One  more  passage  shall  suffice  to  show  what  the 


240  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

Word  of  God  teachcth  in  reference  to  tliis  sublime 
and  awful  theme.  It  is  found  almost  at  the  very  close 
of  the  Sacred  Volume. 

"And  I  saw  a  great  white  throne,  and  Him  that  sat 
on  it,  Irom  whose  face  the  eardi  and  the  heaven  fled 
away;  and  there  was  found  no  place  for  them.  And 
I  saw  the  dead,  small  and  great,  stand  before  God  ; 
and  the  books  were  opened  ;  and  another  book  was 
opened  which  was  the  Book  of  Life  ;  and  the  dead 
were  judged  out  of  those  things  which  were  written  in 
the  books,  according  to  their  works. 

"And  the  sea  gave  up  the  dead  which  were  in  it; 
and  death  and  hell  gave  up  the  dead  which  were  in 
them  ;  and  they  were  judged,  every  man,  according  to 
their  works." 

In  presenting  a  synopsis  of  the  entire  teachings  of 
the  Bible,  on  the  subject  of  the  appointment  of  a  fu- 
ture and  orneral  yiidgmcnt  Day,  I  will  tr)-  to  observe 
a  certain  kind  of  order  in  my  remarks,  with  a  view 
to  be  the  better  understood  by  plain  readers,  who  de- 
sire to  know  the  truth. 

I.  In  the  first  place,  then,  it  may  be  said  that  the 
appointment  of  a  day  of  general  judgment  at  the  end 
of  the  world,  does  not  conflict  with  the  doctrine  of  the 
separate  existence  of  departed  souls,  during  the  inter- 
val that  elapses  between  death  and  the  resurrection. 
There  are  those  holding  the  pre-millennarian  theory, 
called,  sometimes.  Second  Adventists,  who  believe  that 
during  the  interval  between  the  moment  of  death  and 
the  final  resurrection,  the  soul  sleeps — that  it  is  utterly 
unconscious  or  dead,  like  the  ephemeral  insects  of 
earth  that  remain  in  a  torpid  state  six  months  in  the 


THE    END   OF   THE    WORLD.  24! 

year  during  the  cold  season,  and  then  come  to  Hfe  in 
the  spring.  But  this  is  a  view  that  is  wholly  at  vari- 
ance with  some  of  the  most  positive  declarations  of 
the  Bible. 

When  Jesus  said  to  the  Sadducees  that  "God  is  not 
the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living,"  He  affirmed, 
in  a  way  that  ought  not  to  be  misunderstood  nor  per- 
verted, that  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  are  living,  and 
not  dead,  as  the  Sadducees  believed  and  affirmed. 

And  again,  when  Jesus  said  to  the  thief  on  the 
cross,  "  to-day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  paradise"  He 
taught  in  unequivocal  words  the  immortality,  and  the 
deathless  nature  of  the  soul,  by  showing  that  the  cru- 
cifixion of  the  body  could  not  terminate  its  existence. 
Many  violent  but  unsuccessful  attempts  have  been 
made  to  wrest  this  Scripture. 

The  word  paradise  occurs  three  times  in  the  New 
Testament.  Paul  says  that  he  was  caught  up  to  the 
"third  heaven,"  which,  as  all  admit,  is  the  highest 
heaven — and  he  calls  it  paradise.  Again  we  read  of 
paradise  in  John's  Revelation,  where  the  throne  of 
God  is  said  to  be ;  and  that  must  be  the  highest 
heaven.  To  make  it,  therefore,  a  middle  state  or  a 
purgatory,  or  a  state  of  unconscious  sleep,  is  a 
violence  to  the  words  of  Scripture,  which  would 
scarcely  be  tolerated  with  reference  to  any  other  book. 

Christ  shows  the  deathless  nature  of  the  soul,  when 
He  warned  His  hearers  to  fear  not  them  which  can 
kill  the  body  only,  and  after  that,  have  no  more  that 
they  can  do ;  but  to  fear  Him,  who,  after  He  has  killed 
the  body,  "  is  able  to  destroy  both  soul  and  body  in 
hell;  yea,  I  say  unto  you,  fear  Him." 
16 


242  MOSES    AND    THE    rHILOSOPHERS. 

Aq-aln,  He  teaches  tlie  continued  existence  of  the 
soul  after  the  dissolution  of  the  body,  In  the  parable 
of  the  rich  man  and  Lazarus,  wherein  He  represents 
the  former  as  dying-  and  being  buried,  and  then  lifdng 
up  his  eyes  in  hell,  being  in  torment ;  and  the  other  as 
dying,  and  then  being  carried  immediately  by  angels 
to  Abraham's  bosom  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  It  has 
probably  never  occurred  to  any  sincere  inquirer,  that 
it  was  the  body  of  Lazarus  instead  of  his  soul,  which 
was  borne  by  the  angels  into  Abraham's  bosom. 

But  here  is  a  passage  in  Acts  vii.  which  is  definite, 
and  ought  to  be  conclusive — it  is  the  account  of  Ste- 
phen's vision,  and  his  prayer,  at  the  moment  when  he 
was  about  to  be  crowned  with  the  crown  of  mar- 
tyrdom. 

"  Behold,  I  see  the  heavens  opened,  and  the  Son  of 
man  standing  on  the  right  hand  of  God.  Then  they 
cried  out  with  a  loud  voice,  and  stopped  their  ears, 
and  ran  upon  him  with  one  accord,  and  cast  him  out 
of  the  city,  and  stoned  him  ;"  and  the  witnesses  laid 
down  their  clothes  at  a  young  man's  feet,  whose  name 
was  Saul.  And  they  stoned  Stephen  calling  upon 
God,  and  saying,  "  Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit."  Did 
he  mean  to  pray,  "  Lord  Jesus,  raise  up  my  body  in 
the  resurrection  of  the  just  at  the  last  day  ?  "  This  is 
what  they  must  believe,  who  deny  the  separate  exist- 
ence of  the  soul. 

The  apostle  Paul,  in  Corinthians,  teaches:  "For  we 
know  that  if  our  earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle  were 
dissolved,  we  have  a  building  of  God,  a  house  not 
made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens. 

"Therefore,  we  are  always  confident,  knowing  that 


THE    END    OF   THE    WORLD.  243 

whilst  we  are  at  home  in  the  body,  we  are  absent  from 
the  Lord  (for  we  walk  by  faith,  not  by  sight)  ;  we  are 
confident,  I  say,  and  willing-  rather  to  be  absent  from 
the  body,  and  to  be  present  with  the  Lord." 

Here  is  the  doctrine  of  the  separate  existence, 
stated  in  terms  as  direct  and  clear  as  it  would  be 
possible  to  use — "at  home  in  the  body — absent  from 
the  Lord  " — "  but  absent  from  the  body — present 
with  the  Lord."  But  there  is  no  period  or  interval 
when  the  soul  can  be  said  to  be  absent  from  the 
body,  only  while  the  latter  is  in  the  grave,  as  they 
exist  together  in  a  state  of  union  before  death,  which 
union  is  to  be  reconstituted  at  the  resurrection.  Yet 
Paul  said,  he  was  "willing  rather  to  be  absent  from 
the  body,"  in  order  that  he  might  be  "present  with 
the  Lord." 

In  Philippians,  the  Apostle  has  the  same  idea; 

"  For  me  to  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain.  But 
if  I  live  in  the  flesh,  this  is  the  fruit  of  my  labor;  yet 
what  I  shall  choose  I  wot  not.  For  I  am  in  a  strait  be- 
twixt two,  having  a  desire  to  depart,  and  to  be  with 
Christ,  which  is  far  better." 

If  the  Apostle  knew  or  believed  that  he  would  not 
exist  any  more  after  death,  till  he  should  rise  in  the 
resurrection,  could  he  have  spoken  of  his  desire  to 
depart  and  be  with  Christ,  which  is  far  better  ?  He 
had  said  that  "  to  live  is  Christ."  It  is  something  then, 
even  to  live.  But  he  added,  "  to  die  is  gain."  But 
what  gain  would  there  be  in  dying,  if  to  live  is  Christ? 
Because,  as  he  explained,  in  dying  or  in  departing,  he 
would  be  with  Christ,  which  is  far  better.     This  would 


244-  MOSES    AND   THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

be  gain.  Wliat  he  meant  l)y  departing,  was  leaving 
the  body.  To  claim  that  this  passage  is  to  be  under- 
stood as  having  reference,  exchisively,  to  the  future 
resurrection  of  tlie  body,  would  be  a  wresting  of  the 
words  from  their  plain  and  obvious  meaning,  wholly 
unpardonable. 

But,  denying  the  separate  existence,  what  shall  we 
do  with  the  passage,  which  speaks  of  the  transfigura- 
tion of  Jesus  in  the  holy  mount?  Luke  says:  "And, 
behold,  there  talked  with  Him  two  men  which  were 
Moses  and  Elias  ;  who  appeared  in  glory,  and  spake 
of  His  decease  which  He  should  accomplish  at  Jeru- 
salem. But  Peter  and  they  that  were  with  him  were 
heavy  with  sleep ;  and  when  they  were  awake,  they 
saw  His  sflorv,  and  the  two  men  that  stood  with 
Him." 

What  would  the  advocates  of  the  sleeping  theory, 
make  of  this  vision  ?  Would  they  say  that  it  was  an 
optical  illusion — a  false  appearance  created  for  the 
purpose  of  deceiving  the  apostles  ?  For.  if  it  was  a 
real  appearance  of  Moses  and  Elias,  in  their  glorious 
forms,  talking  with  the  Saviour,  and  speaking  of  the 
decease  Avhich  He  should  accomplish  at  Jerusalem,  it 
proves  beyond  a  question  the  doctrine  of  a  separate 
existence.  It  is  true  that  Elias  had  been  translated, 
and  had  never  seen  death  ;  but  it  is  expressly  recorded 
of  Moses  that  he  died,  and  that  he  was  buried.  But 
now,  many  hundreds  of  years  after,  he  is  seen  alive 
in  the  company  of  Elias,  and  in  the  company  of  the 
Divine  Master,  all  in  their  divinest  forms.  We  know 
that  the  appearance  of  Jesus  transfigured,  was  a  living 
and  glorious  reality;  and  we  certainly  believe  that  the 


THE   END    OF   THE   WORLD.  245 

form  of  Elias,  as  seen  by  the  apostles,  Peter,  James, 
and  John,  was  a  real  and  living  form.  And  to  argue 
that  the  form  of  Moses  which  appeared  with  them, 
and  conversed  with  them,  was  not  a  real,  living  form, 
but  a  mere  phantasm — an  optical  illusion,  made  to 
pass  before  the  eyes  of  the  apostles  to  deceive  them, 
would  indeed  be  a  desperate  resort.  And  yet  this, 
would  be  necessary,  on  the  supposition  that  the  soul 
does  not,  and  cannot  exist  separate  and  apart  from 
the  body. 

There  is  not  a  sentence  nor  a  word  in  the  Bible 
that,  properly  construed,  lends  any  support  to  the 
idea  that  the  soul  has  such  a  necessary  connection  or 
identity  with  the  body,  that  it  does  not,  or  cannot 
exist  apart  from  it,  but  necessarily  sleeps,  or  is  dead, 
when  the  body  is  dead.  In  Bible  phraseology,  the 
body  is  represented  or  spoken  of  as  the  tabernacle — 
the  mere  tenement  of  the  soul.  And  what  identity 
can  there  be  between  a  house  or  a  tenement,  and  the 
living  being  who  dwells  therein  ?  Paul  says,  "  For  we 
know  that  when  this  earthly  house  of  our  tabernacle 
shall  be  dissolved,"  etc.  And  Peter  says,  referring  to 
his  own  decease,  "  Knowing  that  shortly,  I  must  put 
off  this  my  tabernacle,  even  as  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
hath  showed  me."  And  aeain  :  "as  lonof  as  I  am  in 
this  tabernacle " — What  does  he  mean  by  the  two 
simple  words,  ''this  tabernacle?"  And  what  does  he 
mean  by  the  pronoun,  "/" — I  must  put  off  this  taber- 
nacle ?  Does  he  mean  that  the  tabernacle  shall  put 
itself  off?  Or  does  he  speak  of  his  soul,  that  it  shall 
drop  this  tabernacle  of  clay ;  and  then,  when  it  shall 
have  dropped  it,  itself  cease  to  be  } 


246  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

The  account  i^^iven  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis, 
concernin*^  the  origin  of  man,  shows  that  he  is  pos- 
sessed of  an  undyinL^  and  immortal  spirit — "God 
breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life — and  man 
became  a  living  soul."  The  soul  of  man.  therefore, 
emanated  directly  from  God,  and  it  is  a  spiritual  es- 
sence, in  its  very  nature  immortal.  Solomon,  evi- 
dently, makes  allusion  to  this  origin  of  man,  when, 
speaking  of  his  dissolution,  he  says:  "Then  shall  the 
dust  return  unto  the  earth  as  it  was,  but  the  spirit 
shall  return  unto  God  who  gave  it." 

2.  As  the  judgment  is  to  follow  the  resurrection  in 
the  order  of  events,  and  as  the  reunion  of  soul  and 
body  takes  place  at  the  resurrection,  one  great  and 
special  design  of  the  general  judgment  must  be  to 
connect  the  soul  and  body  together,  in  the  final 
awards  to  be  pronounced  on  the  deeds  done  in  the 
body,  according  to  what  is  written  :  "For  we  must  all 
appear  before  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ,  that  every 
one  may  receive  the  things  done  in  his  body,  ac- 
cording to  that  he  hath  done,  whether  it  be  good  or 
bad."  Of  course,  the  souls  of  all  the  departed  had 
entered  immediately,  at  death,  on  the  rewards  of  the 
righteous  or  the  wicked.  But  their  bodies,  reposing 
in  the  silence  of  the  grave,  do  not  share  nor  partici- 
pate with  them  in  those;  awards,  till  the  resurrection, 
when  they  are  reunited,  to  share  one  common  destiny 
forever.  This  a  retribution  terribly  exact  and  just. 
The  mind  of  man  could  not  conceive  of  any  form  or 
mode  of  retribution,  more  literal  and  exact,  than  that 
the  bodies  which  had  been  prostituted  to  sin — and 
the  hands,  and  the  feet,  and  the  eyes,  and  the  mouthy 


THE    END    OF   THE    WORLD.  24/ 

and  the  voice,  and  all  the  organs  and  members  there- 
of, which  had  been  used,  as  the  instruments  of  sin, 
should  have  perpetuity  instamped  upon  them,  and 
should,  in  turn,  be  made  the  instruments  of  pun- 
ishment, as  they  had  been  made  the  instruments  of 
sin. 

3.  There  is  another,  and,  perhaps,  still  more  impor- 
tant reason  for  the  appointment  of  a  general  judg- 
ment day,  found  in  the  manifest  propriety  that  seems 
to  exist,  to  give  unto  the  intelligent  universe  of  God 
— to  angels  and  men,  as  well  as  devils,  a  public  exhi- 
bition of  the  justice  of  God,  and  of  the  equity  and 
righteousness  of  all  his  dispensations  and  judgments. 

Tlie  Books  are  to  be  opened.  God  intends  to  vin- 
dicate Himself  *'  Every  mouth  shall  be  stopped." 
And  it  will  be  known  in  that  day,  that  His  ways  were 
just  and  true.  Now  they  say  that  His  ways  are  not 
equal — that  He  n.akes  no  distinction  between  the 
righteous  and  the  wicked — that  He  is  a  monster  of 
cruelty — that  He  is  a  tyrant — that  He  has  filled  this 
world  with  weeping  and  misery,  when  He  could  have 
made  it  a  paradise  just  as  well. 

These  things  being  so,  there  seems  in  the  very 
nature  of  things,  a  fitness  or  propriety  that  there  be 
made  a  public  manifestation,  in  the  sight  of  earth, 
heaven  and  hell,  when  all  shall  be  made  to  know 
that  God  was  just.  Then  every  mouth  shall  be 
stopped,  and  every  knee  shall  bow  before  Him. 

Reason  utterly  fails,  and  the  imagination  staggers 
before  the  attempt  to  conceive  the  display,  which  is 
to  be  given  to  the  universe  itself  on  that  day.  Jesus 
said:  "The  Son  of  man  shall  come  in  His  glory," — 


248  MOSES    AND    THE    Pll  ILOSOI'IIERS. 

that  all  the  holy  angels  shall  be  with  Him — that  He 
shall  sit  on  the  throne  of  His  glory — and  that  all  na- 
tions shall  be  gathered  before  Him,  John  says:  "I>e- 
hold,  He  shall  come  in  the  clouds  of  heaven  " — that 
"every  eye  shall  see  Him" — and  "they  also  v^ho 
pierced  Him" — and  that  "  all  kindreds  of  the  earth 
shall  wail  because  of  Him."  And  John  says  again, 
that  he  saw  the  throne — the  "  trreat  white  throne"  of 
judgment — and  "  Him  that  sat  on  it,  before  whose 
face  the  heavens  and  the  earth  lied  away  " — and  that 
he  saw  "the  books  opened" — and  "the  dead  judged 
out  of  those  things  which  were  written  in  the  books, 
accordinof  to  their  works."  What  a  scene  that  is  to 
be,  in  the  eyes  of  angels,  men  and  devils!  It  is  thus 
the  drama  of  earth's  history  is  to  close. 

4.  The  books  which  are  to  be  opened,  and  out  of 
which  the  dead  are  to  be  judged  according  to  their 
works,  will  not  be  great  hxlgers,  or  public  records 
such  as  are  sometimes  kept  by  men,  to  j^reserve  the 
memor)'  of  certain  events,  but  the)'  will  be  the  indi- 
vidual and  personal  records  of  each  individual  of  the 
race.  As  explained  in  a  former  chapter,  on  the  per- 
fect law,  they  are  the  books  of  memory  and  con- 
science, which  faculties  of  the  soul  are  in  their  oriofin, 
so  perfect  that  they  retain  a  distinct  impression  of 
every  event,  and  every  act  made  on  them,  in  the  course 
of  a  lifetime.  These  books  are  to  be  opened.  Every 
guilty  soul  will  be  able  to  read  the  long,  dark  cata- 
logue of  his  sins,  as  distinctly  as  if  they  were  legibly 
written  in  blazing  letters,  on  the  bright  vault  of  heaven, 
and  in  the  si<rht  of  the  whole  universe ;  and  he  will 
not  wait  for  any  public  sentence   to   be   pronounced 


THE    END    or    THE    WORLD.  249 

aeainst  him,  hut,  overwhelmed  with  a  sense  of  self- 
condemnation,  he  will  pronounce  his  own  sentence, 
and  beL;in  to  seek  a  hiding-place  "  from  the  wrath  of 
Him  that  sitteth  on  the  throne,  and  from  the  wrath 
of  the  Lamb."  It  is  not  necessary  to  believe,  on  this 
theory,  that  the  judgment  day  will  be  longer  than  any 
other  natural  day. 

5.  The  reading  of  the  Scriptures,  as  also  the  order 
of  events  that  will  constitute  the  proceedings  of  the 
last  day,  require  us  to  believe  that  there  will  be  at 
least,  a  brief  interval  between  the  resurrection  of  the 
righteous,  and  that  of  the  wicked.  There  are,  specially, 
two  passages  in  which  we  think  this  idea  is  clearly  con- 
tained. The  first  is  in  i  Corinthians  xv.  chapter:  '.'For 
as  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made 
alive;  but  every  man  in  his  own  order;  Christ  the 
first-fruits ;  afterward,  'chey  that  are  Christ's  at  His 
coming.  Then  cometh  the  end,  when  He  shall  have 
delivered  up  the  kingdom  to  God,  even  the  Father; 
when  He  shall  have  put  down  all  rule,  and  all  authority 
and  powder.  The  last  enemy  that  shall  be  destroyed 
is  death." 

"  Every  man  in  his  own  order  " — Christ  first;  "after- 
ward, they  that  are  Christ's  at  His  coming."  He  is 
first  to  take  care  of  His  own.  "Then  cometh  the 
end,"  etc. 

Another  passage,  to  the  same  effect,  is  found  in 
Thessalonians : 

"  For  this  we  say  unto  you  by  the  word  of  the  Lord, 
that  we  which  are  alive,  and  remain  unto  the  coming 
of  the  Lord,  shall  not  prevent  them  which  are  asleep. 
For  the  Lord  Himself  shall  descend  from  heaven  with 


250  MOSES   AND    THE    rillLOSOPHEKS. 

a  shout,  with  the  voice  of  tlic  archangel,  and  with  the 
triimj)  of  God;  and  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first; 
then  we  which  are  alive,  and  remain,  shall  be  caught 
up  together  with  them  in  the  clouds  to  meet  the  Lord 
in  the  air;  and  so  shall  we  ever  be  with  the  Lord." 

Here  we  are  informed  that  when  the  end  shall 
come,  the  world  will  be  full  of  inhabitants,  even  as  it 
was  in  the  days  of  Noah.  But  as  Hesh  and  blood 
cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God,  the  saints  which 
are  alive,  and  remain  unto  the  coming  of  the  Lord, 
are  to  be  changed  in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of 
an  eye.  But  first,  or  before  this  sudden  transforma- 
tion by  which  the  bodies  of  the  living  saints  are 
changed  from  corruptible  into  incorruptible  and  im- 
mortal bodies,  the  dead  saints  are  to  be  raised  incor- 
ruptible, and  then  the  living-  and  the  dead,  all  alike, 
glorious  and  immortal,  are  to  be  caught  up  together 
in  one  grand  company,  in  the  clouds  to  meet  the  Lord 
at  His  coming.  What  a  meeting  that  will  be!  Who 
among  us  will  be  at  that  meeting?  Let  every  reader 
ask  himself  the  question:  who  of  us  will  be  at  that 
meeting,  and  participate  in  the  joy  ? 

And  then  what?  And  "then  cometh  the  end." 
That  must  signify  that,  then,  the  resurrection  of  the 
wicked  takes  place.  But  they  will  not  be  caught  up 
to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air;  but  they  will  be  held 
back  by  the  weight  of  their  sins,  as  if  by  the  force  of 
gravitation.  Then  comes  the  final  conflagration  so 
graphically  described  by  Peter.  And  in  Rexelation 
x.\.  John  alludes  to  the  same  tc;rrific  scene,  saying: 

"And  fire  came  down  from  (Jod  out  of  heaven  and 


THE    END    OF    THE   WORLD.  25  I 

devoured  diem.  And  the  Devil  diat  deceived  diem, 
was  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire  and,  brimstone,  where 
the  beast  and  the  false  prophet  are,  and  shall  be  tor- 
mented day  and  night  forever  and  ever." 

6.  The  conflagration  of  this  material  globe  is  the 
event,  which  is  to  follow  the  resurrecdon  and  the  gen- 
eral judgment.  The  account  which  Peter  gives  is 
strikino-  and  errand — and  it  seems  to  be  quite  as  literal, 
and  as  free  from  ficrures  as  the  account  of  the  destruc- 
tion  of  the  old  world  by  water.  This  earth  is  to  be 
dissolved,  not  by  any  figurative  or  metaphorical  con- 
flagration, but  by  a  literal  and  material  fire. 

How  will  this  be  done?  the  scientist  may  ask. 
Thou  fool,  cannot  He  who  found  means  to  sink  the 
former  earth  beneath  the  ocean  waves,  whereby  it 
perished  utterly,  and  has  never  since  been  inhabited, 
find  means  to  destroy  the  present  globe  by  fire  ? 

We  are  not  curious  to  inquire,  whether  this  burn- 
ing up  of  the  world  with  the  works  therein,  and  the 
meltine  of  the  elements  with  fervent  heat,  will  be  a 
final  and  total  destruction  of  the  present  globe ;  or 
whether  it  will  be  simply  a  purification,  just  as  gold  is 
melted  and  separated  from  dross  by  fire,  whereby  it 
is  to  be  renovated,  and  formed  into  a  new  heavens 
and  a  new  earth,  so  as  to  constitute  the  nev.^  Jerusa- 
lem— the  literal  city  of  God,  the  final  home  of  the 
saints,  and  the  abode  of  everlasting  righteousness, 
as  so  many  good  Christians  are  inclined  to  believe. 

This  question  is  purely  a  speculative  one,  and  is 
without  any  practical  importance  whatever.  The 
apostle  simply  says,  "  Nevertheless,  we  look  for  a  new 
heavens  and  a  new  earth,  wherein  dwelleth  righteous- 


252  MOSES    AND    THE    nilLOSOPHERS. 

ness ; "  wliicli,  in  itself,  contains  no  intimation  what- 
ever, that  the  new  heavens  and  the  new  earth  will  be 
the  old  heavens,  and  the  old  earth  renovated  and 
purified.  We  have  no  objections  to  this,  as  a  mere 
theory.  But  we  may  simply  remark,  that  it  will  not 
make  much  difference  in  what  locality  the  home  of  the 
saints  is  to  be  hereafter,  since  we  are  assured,  it  will 
be  in  our  Father's  house  in  which  "are  many  man- 
sions," and  where  Jesus  has  gone  before,  to  prepare 
places  for  all  His  followers.  But  we  do  not  see  how  it 
could  be  on  this  present  globe,  if  He  is  alread)-  gone 
to  prepare  those  mansions. 

In  the  light  of  the  judgment  day,  the  holy  angels, 
who  never  fell  into  sin,  will  see  the  wisdom  and  glory 
of  the  law  of  holiness,  who  had  only  acquired  their 
knowledge  by  revelation,  or  by  witnessing  its  opera- 
tion on  others.  And  the  lost  spirits  who  were  made  free 
agents,  and  voluntarily  departed  from  that  law,  will 
yet  be  constrained  to  acknowledge  the  glory  of  it  in 
the  last  day,  though  they  find  themselves,  by  an  act  of 
their  own  folly,  excluded  forever  from  the  heaven  of 
holiness,  and  shut  up  in  the  regions  of  darkness  and 
sin  eternally.  "  Every  tongue  shall  confess."  This 
will  be  known  in  the  judgment  day. 

The  impression  to  be  made  by  the  proceedings  of 
that  day,  on  the  minds  of  all  intelligent  beings  in  the 
universe,  whether  they  be  holy  or  unholy,  will  be,  that 
God  was  true — that  God  was  just,  and  holy,  and  good 
— and  that  all  His  ways,  and  all  His  works  were 
according  to  judgment  and  truth. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

The  Future  Life ;  or,  Heaven  and  Hell. 

The  universal  belief  in  a  future  life — What  Plutarch  wrote — A  cognate  belief — 
Virtue  its  own  reward — Conscience  ever-present — Ciiange  of  place  no  relief 
— Heaven  would  be  hell  to  a  sinner  without  a  change — Two  preliminary 
oljservations — Hell  a  place,  not  simply  a  state — A  place  of  punishment — The 
punishment  everlasting  —  The  suffering  physical  and  mental — Intensity  of 
mental  suffering — A  state  of  darkness  —  The  "Outer  darkness  "—The  im- 
passable gulf — The  society,  the  inhabitants — Heaven  also  a  place— The  houses 
not  made  with  hands — Spirits  do  not  occupy  space— Clothed  upon  and  not 
found  naked — The  philosophy  considered — Heaven  a  holy  communion  united 
by  love — Ever  growing  in  knowledge — Everlasting  freedom  from  sin — Eternal 
rest — Employments  of  heaven — Serving  God  day  and  night — Reigning  with 
Christ. 

TF  a  man  die,  shall  he  live  again?"  It  seems 
X  to  be  natural  for  man  to  believe  in  his  own 
immortality.  It  does  not  essentially  concern  us  to 
know  whether  this  universal  belief,  has  come  down 
as  a  tradition  from  the  first  pair  of  the  human  race, 
or  whether  the  light  of  nature  so  teaches  it,  that  it 
is  necessarily  the  common  property  of  all  mankind. 
For  the  present,  it  is  sufficient  to  know  that  there  is 
not  a  nation,  a  people,  or  a  tribe  known,  that  does  not, 
under  some  symbols  or  other,  cherish  the  hope  or 
the  expectation  of  a  future  life.  However  sunk  in 
vice,  ignorance  and  misery;  however  isolated,  or  cut 
off  from  intercourse  with  other  nations,  there  has  been 

(253) 


254  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

foiincl  no  race  or  people  without  any  sense  of  a  deity, 
and  without  any  notions  of  rehgion,  or  of  a  belief  in  a 
future  state.      Plutarch  wrote: 

*'If  we  traverse  the  world,  it  is  possible  to  find  cities 
without  walls,  without  letters,  without  kings,  without 
wealth,  without  coin,  without  schools  and  theatres; 
but  a  city  without  a  temple,  or  that  practiseth  not  wor- 
ship, prayers  and  the  like,  no  one  ever  saw." 

This  statement  involves  a  very  important  fact,  and 
we  might,  properly  enough,  indulge  the  disposition  to 
philosophize  upon  it.  But  this  is  not  my  present  pur- 
pose. No  intelligent  sceptic  would  be  disposed  to 
question  or  deny  the  fact.  Let  him  philosophize,  if  so 
inclined,  or  account,  in  any  way  he  can,  for  this  uni- 
versal notion,  prevalent  in  all  times,  and  in  all  coun- 
tries. If  he  shall  conclude  that  the  whole  world  has 
been  wrong  from  the  beginning  until  now,  let  him 
take  a  position  antagonistic  to  the  whole  world,  if  he 
shall  think  it  safe  and  wise  to  do  so.  If  the  world 
is  wrong,  he  gains  nothing  by  his  singularity ;  if  the 
world  is  right,  he  loses  all.  This  consideration  alone, 
independently  of  any  other,  shows  the  sceptic  and 
the  unbeliever  to  be  a  fool,  according  to  the  word  of 
Solomon. 

Related  to  this  general  belief  in  a  future  existence^ 
is  the  cognate  belief  that  that  existence  is  to  be  happy 
or  miserable,  according  to  the  deeds  done  in  the 
body ;  in  other  words,  that  the  present  life  is  only 
a  state  of  preparation  for  the  life  to  come.  A  life 
of  holiness  is  to  make  our  future  heaven;  a  life  of 
sin  is  to  make  our  future  hell.  The  present  time  is 
the  seed-time  of  life  ;  eternity  is  to  be  the  harvest-time. 


THE    FUTURE    LIFE;    OR,    HEAVEN    AND    HELL.  255 

"According  to  what  a  man  sows,  that  shall  he  also 
reap."  "  He  that  sows  to  the  flesh,  shall  of  the  flesh, 
reap  corruption,  but  he  that  sows  to  the  spirit,  shall 
of  the  spirit  reap  life  everlasting." 

The  proverb  is  just  as  true  as  it  is  widely  known, 
that  virtue  is  its  own  reward,  and  that  sin  brincrs  its 
own  punishment.  And  there  is  involved  in  this  saying 
a  universal  principle  or  law,  that  lies  at  the  foundation 
of  the  moral  constitution  of  heaven.  This  is  the 
proposition  it  will  be  necessary  to  develop  in  the 
present  chapter,  which  would,  therefore,  be  a  fitting 
sequel  to  Chapter  vi.,  Vol.  ii.,  on  death  as  the  penalty 
of  transgression  ;  wherein  it  was  proved  that  death  is 
no  less  the  wages  or  the  fruit  of  sin,  than  the  judicial 
consequence  thereof. 

If  we  recur  to  the  record  of  the  first  sin  committed 
on  this  earth,  as  detailed  in  the  inspired  narrative,  we 
see  what  were  the  effects  thereof.  It  literally  changed 
Eden  into  a  hell — a  place  of  torture.  What  became 
of  all  the  delicious  sweets  of  paradise,  the  moment 
man  sinned  ?  We  can  easily  fancy  that  it  was  a  relief, 
when  he  was  excluded  from  its  pleasant  bowers,  and 
driven  forth  into  the  wilderness  of  the  world. 

The  children  of  Adam  have  all  had  the  experience 
which  he  had.  We  look  on  the  beautiful  and  costly 
palaces,  which  men  have  reared  for  their  pleasure, 
and  we  imagine  how  blest  the  owners  must  be,  living 
in  such  gorgeous  mansions,  surrounded  with  so  much 
wealth,  and  in  the  possession  of  everything,  that  can 
be  supposed  to  minister  peace  and  comfort  to  the 
heart.  But  if  we  look  inside,  we  should,  perhaps,  see 
the  owner  of  these  pleasant  things,  a  miserable  wretch. 


256  MOSES    AND    TIIK    I'll  ILOSOI'HERS. 

We  envy  him,  but  if  \\c  could  look  into  his  heart,  in- 
stead of  envying,  we  should  pity  him. 

Is  he  liappy,  as  he  walks  the  floor  of  his  magnifi- 
cent chamber  at  the  midniorht  hour,  or  tosses  from 
side  to  side  on  his  downy  couch,  while  sleep  is  a 
stranger  to  his  eyes  ?  Is  he  happy,  as  memory  calls 
up  the  past,  and  remorse  rankles  in  his  bosom  ? 
What  is  it  that  makes  him  a  very  wretch,  though  in  the 
possession  of  all  that  is  calculated  to  make  life  sweet 
and  joyous  ?  Is  it  the  image  of  a  friend  murdered  by 
him,  years  ago,  whose  blood  still  cries  for  vengeance  ? 
Or  is  it  the  sweet,  pleading  face  of  a  youthful  and 
delicate  female  he  once  called  Iiis  wife,  whom  he  mal- 
treated, struck  down,  and,  perhaps,  turned  away  from 
his  door,  which  now  haunts  his  visions,  and  fills  his 
soul  with  anguish  at  the  recollection  ?  Well,  no 
matter  what ;  but  it  is  some  ghost  of  imamnation  or 
memory,  that  has  turned  that  mansion  ot  elegance 
and  comfort  into  a  castle  of  despair  and  wretchedness. 
Do  not  envy  those  who  seem  to  be  rich,  and  pros- 
perous, and  great.  There  is  hardly  a  pillow  of  down, 
under  which  guilt  has  not  planted  some  thorn  that 
chases  away  sleep,  from  the  soul  that  we  fancy  to  be 
without  a  care  or  a  sorrow. 

How  came  it,  that  there  is  this  inseparable  connec- 
tion between  well-doing  and  a  happy,  joyful  frame  of 
mind;  and  between  ill-doing  and  a  remorseful  iJtate 
of  heart?  This  is  not  an  accidental  thing — it  cannot 
be  regarded  as  a  chance-operation.  But  it  is  so  uni- 
versal, that  we  have  come  to  regard  it  as  a  law, 
belonging  to  the  constitution  of  the  soul  itself  And 
if  it  is  a  law — and  a  part  of  tlu:  mo:  al  government  of 


THE   FUTURE    LIFE;    OR,    HEAVEN    AND    HELL.  25/ 

God,  there  can  be  no  way  to  resist  its  operation.  But 
it  is  just  as  necessary  and  certain,  that  they  who  do 
wrong  shall  suffer,  and  that  they  who  do  right  shall 
be  rewarded,  as  that  the  law  of  gravitation  shall  draw 
heavy  bodies  downward  to  the  earth. 

If  these  premises  be  allowed,  the  logical  and  neces- 
sary inference  from  them  is,  that,  even  if  the  Scrip- 
tures v/ere  altogether  silent  in  regard  to  a  state  of 
future  rewards  and  punishment,  or  a  future  heaven 
and  a  future  hell,  yet,  if  there  is  a  future  life  at  all, 
the  condition  of  that  life,  as  to  happiness  or  misery, 
is  to  be  suspended  on  the  previous  conditions  of  holi- 
ness or  sinfulness  in  the  soul. 

A  heart  that  contains,  in  itself,  the  elements  of  its 
own  misery — that  has  a  rankling  sore  within  that  can- 
not be  healed,  so  that  it  is  never  at  ease  while  at 
home,  could  not  be  at  ease  if  it  should  go  away  from 
home,  or  visit  strange  lands.  So,  an  immortal  spirit, 
that  is  alienated  from  God — that  feels  the  workings 
of  sin  in  itself,  while  in  this  world,  would  experience 
the  same  alienation  from  God — the  same  rankling  of 
sin  in  its  nature,  if  it  should  go  out  of  this  world  into 
another.  Then,  where  would  such  a  soul  go  ?  Surely, 
it  would  not  seek  to  go  to  the  bosom  of  God — or  to 
heaven  the  abode  of  God's  holiness.  There  is  not  a 
wicked  man  on  earth,  that  would  not  fear  and  quake 
at  the  thought  of  meeting  God,  because  of  His  infi- 
nite holiness.  As  Adam  lied  when  he  heard  the  voice 
of  God,  and  sought  to  hide  from  His  presence,  so 
when  a  guilty,  remorseful  soul,  like  that  of  Judas, 
leaves  this  world,  instead  of  being  attracted  upward 
to  meet  God,  in  the  abode  of  His  own  essential  and 
17 


258  MOSES    AND    TUt:    PUILOSOPHEKS. 

eternal  holiness,  it  would  be  necessarily  repelled,  and 
driven  by  its  own  nature  in  the  opposite  direction. 
Every  sinner  would  want  to  get  as  far  away  as  possi- 
ble from  the  centre  of  holiness.  And  if  there  should 
be,  in  the  wide  universe,  any  place  that  migrht  be 
called  the  centre  of  sin — a  sinful  habitation,  congenial 
to  its'  own  nature,  that  would  be  the  place  towards 
which  it  would  naturally  be  drawn. 

The)'  reason  very  inconsistenth',  and  quite  in  op- 
position to  the  dictates  of  their  own  experience,  who 
imagine  that  all  are  to  be  saved.  It  is  to  ignore  the 
fact,  that  all  are  not  willinir  to  be  saved,  and  that  if 
God  should  save  all,  He  would  have  to  save  very 
many  against  their  will,  which  it  is  not  likely  He  will 
do,  since  He  has  made  all  men  free  agents,  which 
makes  it  necessary  that  they  shall  choose  to  be 
saved,  if  they  are  to  be  saved. 

'If  nien  could  be  saved  in  their  si/is,  it  is  perhaps 
true,  that  they  w^ould  be  willing  to  go  to  heaven  en  that 
condition.  But  that  it  is  required  of  them  to  forsake 
their  sins,  this  is  the  trouble — and  this  is  the  reason 
why  so  few  are  willing  to  accept  the  offer  of  salvation. 

It  is  a  law  of  nature  that  nothing  can  be  happy  or 
contented,  when  out  of  its  own  proper  element ;  just 
as  we  say,  a  fish  wants  to  be  in  the  watery  element  to 
swim,  and  the  bird  wants  the  air  to  fly  in,  so  a  holy 
being  wants  a  pure,  holy  atmosphere  to  live  in,  and 
an  unholy  being  wants  to  breathe  in  an  atmosphere 
of  sin.  If  Satan  could  be  lifted  up  and  placed  down 
at  the  very  foot  of  the  great  white  throne,  blazing  with 
the  holiness  of  God,  in  the  very  centre  of  heaven,  with 
the  eye  of   every  holy  intelligence   turned   full   upon 


THE    FUTURE    LIFE  ;    OR,    HEAVEN    AND    HELL.  259 

him,  he  would  make  an  effort  to  escape  as  soon  as 
possible  from  that  overpowering  light,  and  to  hie  back 
again  to  his  own  darkness,  where  his  moral  deformity 
might  at  least  be  partially  obscured  in  the  blackness 
of  eternal  night. 

To  be  saved,  therefore,  implies  the  necessity  of 
beingr  chano-ed — transform.ed — redeemed  from  the 
power  and  dominion,  as  well  as  from  the  conse- 
quences, of  sin.  To  be  saved,  implies  the  necessity 
of  having  a  character  adapted  to  the  nature  of  the 
salvation.  If  salvation  is  deliverance  from  sin,  there 
must  be  a  holy  nature  to  participate  in  the  joys  of  that 
salvation.  But  this  is  not  what  the  sinner  wants.  He 
could  not  participate  very  largely  in  the  joys  of  a  sal- 
vation, for  which  he  has  no  relish — no  taste — no  ca- 
pacity. But  God  is  never  going  to  force  any  sinner 
against  his  will,  into  a  holy  heaven  for  which  he  has 
no  love. 

From  what  has  now  been  remarked,  there  is,  evi- 
dently, a  necessity,  that,  for  those  who  shall  retain  their 
sinful  characters,  preferring  the  pleasures  of  sin  to 
the  pleasures  of  a  holy  life,  there  must  be  a  different 
habitation  prepared  hereafter,  from  that  which  is  des- 
tined for  the  righteous.  Judas,  it  is  said,  went  "  to 
his  own  place."  And  concerning  the  state,  or  the 
place  of  punishment,  to  which  the  wicked  are  sen- 
tenced, Jesus  says  that  it  was  "  prepared  for  the  devil 
and  his  angels."  He  says,  also,  concerning  the  future 
abode  of  the  saints,  that  it  is  a  "  kingdom  prepared  " 
for  them  "  before  the  foundation  of  the  world."  And 
He  is  now  gone,  as  He  said,  "to  prepare  a  place"  for 
His  people — "mansions"  in  His  Father's  house  above. 


260  MOSES   AN'D   THE   HHILOSOPHERS. 

There  Is,  then,  but  this  single  conclusion,  which  we 
can  arrive  at,  from  the  foregoing  remarks,  viz.:  that, 
as  there  are  two  classes  o(  people,  who,  in  their  char- 
acter, are  antipodes,  the  one  to  the  other,  which  for- 
bids the  supposition  that  they  could  possibly  dwell 
together,  harmoniously,  in  the  same  habitation,  there 
must  be  places,  prepared  in  the  future,  for  the  two  op- 
posite classes,  suited  to  their  respective  natures. 
Who  can  object  to  this  doctrine  ? 

Judas  betrayed  his  Master  with  a  kiss  for  the  paltry 
sum  of  thirty  pieces  of  silver.  We  cannot  believe 
that  he  went  straightway  from  earth  to  heaven,  to 
sing  hallelujahs ;  or,  that  he  would  even  have  desired 
to  go  immediately  into  His  presence.  Would  such 
an  one  as  Voltaire,  after  spending  his  life  in  efforts  to 
"  crush  the  wretch,"  as  he  called  Jesus,  be  happy  in 
heaven,  if  Introduced  into  the  blissful  presence  of 
Jesus  as  soon  as  he  left  this  world  ?  Or  would  such 
an  one  as  Strauss,  who  wrote  Jesus  down  for  a  bas- 
tard and  a  pretender,  and,  by  his  eloquent  style,  per- 
suaded thousands  of  men  that  He  was  nothing  more 
than  a  bastard  and  an  impostor — would  he  enjoy  the 
songs  of  praise,  and  could  he  join  in  those  songs, 
which  John  heard  in  his  apocalyptic  visions,  sung  by 
thousands  of  thousands  of  angels,  and  the  redeemed 
hosts,  ascribing  all  honor  and  praise  to  God  and  the 
Lamb?  With  neither  heart  nor  voice  attuned  to  that 
song,  he  could  not  join  in  the  chorus. 

And  if  not,  should  there  not  be  a  place  prepared 
for  all  such  characters  ?  To  ask  the  question  is  to 
answer  it.  There  is,  then,  a  place  or  habitation  called 
heaven,  prepared    hereafter  for   the    righteous;    and 


THE    FUTURE    LIFE;    OR,    HEAVEN    AND    HELL.  261 

another  place  or  habitation,  called  hell,  prepared  for 
the  wicked.  These  terms  are  used  to  designate  the 
habitations  prepared  respectively  for  these  two  op- 
posite classes  in  the  future  world.  They  cannot  be 
one  and  the  same  habitation.  Exact  justice  itself 
imperatively  demands  that  they  should  be  different. 
They  could  not  dwell  together.  There  is  a  wide  and 
impassable  gulf  that  separates  them. 

With  these  preliminary  remarks,  I  proceed  to  show 
what  may  be  known,  from  the  Scriptures,  concerning 
the  future  states  of  the  righteous  and  the  wicked — 
or  of  the  redeemed  and  the  unredeemed.  But  I 
shall  state  briefly  two  postulates,  as  introductory  to 
what  I  shall  say  on  these  important  themes. 

1.  And  the  first  is,  that  heaven  and  hell,  though 
they  may  be  places,  and  may  have  locality,  are  yet  to 
be  viewed  mainly  in  the  light  of  spiritual  habitations, 
as  they  are  to  be  the  abodes  of  spirits — not  of  material 
bodies,  or  bodies  possessed  of  gravity,  and  composed, 
as  our  present  bodies  are,  of  flesh  and  blood.  The 
redeemed  are  called  "the  spirits  of  just  men  made 
perfect,"  and  the  unredeemed  are  the  lost  spirits  in 
the  prison  of  hell.  And  we  are  not  in  a  condition,  at 
present,  to  say  how  spirits  may  occupy  space,  or  dwell 
in  local  habitations. 

2.  As  the  souls  of  the  departed,  both  In  heaven  and 
hell,  are  spirits,  and  also,  as  their  habitations  must  be 
of  a  spiritual  nature,  it  follows  that  their  reward  and 
punishment,  or  their  eternal  joy  and  suffering,  must 
be  of  a  spiritual  nature.  It  will  not  consist,  on  the 
one  hand,  in  any  material  splendors  of  the  New  Jeru- 
salem ;  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  in  any  material  burn- 


262  MOSES   AND    TIIK    PHILOSOPHERS. 

ings  in  a  hell  fire.  Such  expressions  as  "gnashings 
of  teeth,"  "  everlasting  fire,"  "  lake  of  fire  and  brim- 
stone," "  smoke  of  their  torment/'  etc.,  etc.,  have  an 
intensified  meaning,  though  evidently  figurative.  The 
highest  joy  ever  experienced  in  this  life,  is  altogether 
spiritual  and  intellectual.  And  surely  the  intensest 
anguish  ever  known,  is  of  a  niental  nature,  having  no 
connection  with  material  pain.  This  will  suffice  to 
sliow  tliat  no  glitter  of  gold  and  gems,  on  one  hand, 
nor  pains  of  a  literal  and  material  fire,  on  the  other, 
will  be  needed  to  constitute  the  future  heaven,  and 
the  future  hell  of  the  righteous  and  the  wicked,  in  the 
coming  retribution.  With  these  general  principles 
understood,  I  proceed  to  show  what  God  hath  been 
pleased  to  reveal  to  us,  first,  concerning  the  nature  of 
hell,  and  secondly,  concerning  the  nature  of  heaven. 

I.  Let  us  not  linger  long  on  the  consideration  of 
hell.  It  is  a  dismal  theme.  But  as  the  Bible  speaks 
of  hell,  and  as  it  enters  necessarily  into  the  plan  of 
Jehovah,  in  carrying  on  His  moral  government,  I  will 
state  briefly,  several  of  the  principal  features  that  be- 
lonof  to  the  definition  of  hell,  and  constitute  what  is 
called  the  hell  of  the  Scriptures. 

I.  And  first,  we  must  say,  that  it  is  a  place,  and 
not  simply  and  only  a  state,  or  condition.  It  is  said 
of  Judas  after  he  had  committed  suicide,  diat  he 
went  "A?  his  own  placed  This  is  a  very  definite  jjhrase. 
And  Christ  says:  "And  these  (the  wicked)  shall  go 
away  " — they  are  to  take  their  departure — to  go  some- 
where— which  implies  a  separation,  or  a  removal  from 
one  place  to  another.  They  stand  before  the  judg- 
ment bar  of  Christ,  and    lie  says  to  them:  "Depart 


THE    FUTURE    LIFE;    OR,  HEAVEN    AND    HELL.  263 

from  me,  ye  cursed" — and  can  they  stay  in  the  same 
place? — will  they  not  depart?  Will  not  that  awful 
word,  itself,  cause  their  banishment  from  His  glorious 
presence  ?  And  no  matter  where  they  go — or  into 
what  part  of  the  universe  their  banishment  may  be,  it 
will  be  a  departure — a  long  and  eternal  departure 
from  God,  from  holiness,  and  from  heaven.  So  we 
have  to  believe  that  hell  is  a  place,  having  locality. 

2.  Hell  is  a  place  of  punishment, — "These  shall  go 
awa\' into  everlasting  punishment" — not  to  be  puri- 
fied or  purged  from  sin,  as  gold  is  purified  by  fire — 
not,  by  suffering,  to  make  an  expiation  for  the  guilt 
of  sin,  for  there  is  no  expiation  for  sin,  except  in  the 
bloocl  of  Christ;  but  to  suffer  the  judicial  sentence, 
and  the  just  penal  consequences  of  sin.  The  punish- 
ment is  nothing  else  but  the  intiiction  of  a  just  and 
holy  law.  As  we  have  seen,  in  a  former  chapter,  God 
could  not  have  a  perfect  law  without  a  sanction  ;  and 
when  broken,  the  perfect  administration  of  law  de- 
mands the  execution  of  the  sanction.  If  this  had  not 
been  so,  Christ  would  never  have  died  for  sinners,  but 
God  would  have  set  aside  the  penalty,  and  pardoned 
them  without  a  satisfaction.  But  they  who  reject 
Christ,  and  voluntarily  refuse  the  satisfaction  He 
offered  for  them,  must  suiTer  the  punishment  due  to 
their  own  sins. 

3.  The  punishment  of  hell  will  be  '' cverlastingy 
This  is  the  word  the  Saviour  made  use  of,  to  show  its 
duration.  "These  shall  go  away  into  everlasting 
punishment;  but  the  righteous  into  life  eternal."  And 
again,  in  describing  this  punishment,  He  said,  ''where 
the  worm   dieth   not,  and  the   fire  is  not  quenched," 


264  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

which  awful  sentences  convey  the  same  idea  of  unend- 
ing' duration.  There  are  other  forms  of  expression 
that  contain  the  same  thought.  They  are  to  be  con- 
siirned  to  the  same  regions  of  darkness  and  wo,  that 
were  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels,  concerning 
whom  we  read;  that,  they  "kept  not  their  first  estate, 
but  left  their  own  habitation,  and  are  reserved  in  ever- 
lasting chains  under  darkness  unto  the  judgment  of 
tile  great  Day."  The  chains  are  eveTlasting,  If  the 
fallen  angels  have  already  suffered  for  thousands  of 
years,  what  probability  is  there  that  they  will  ever 
be  released  from  their  chains  ?  And  the  wicked  are 
to  be  sentenced  to  the  same  chains  of  darkness,  and 
the  same  fire  that  was  "  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his 
angels." 

And  again,  we  read  that  their  character  will  be  a 
fixed  character — there  can  be  no  change-  in  them  here- 
after— they  will  never  be  purged  from  sin — will  never 
become  holy — but  will  always  be  sinners.  This  is  the 
solemn  assurance  given  us  on  this  subject,  in  the  very 
last  chapter  of  Revelation — "  He  that  is  unjust,  let 
him  be  unjust  still;  and  he  which  is  filthy,  let  him  be 
filthy  still  ;  and  he  that  is  righteous,  let  him  be  right- 
eous still,  and  he  that  is  holy,  let  him  be  holy  still." 
There  was  one  bath,  and  there  never  was  but  one 
bath  in  the  universe,  that  could  purge  a  guilty  con- 
science from  the  stain  of  sin — that  was  the  blood  of 
Christ.  But  they  despised  that  remedy — they  trampled 
that  blood  under  their  feet ;  therefore,  their  sin  must 
remain. 

4.  The  punishment  of  hell  may  not  altogether  ex- 
clude the  idea  of  physical  suffering;  but  this  idea  is 


THE    FUTURE    LIFE;    OR,    HEAVEN    AND    HELL.  265 

not  at  all  essential,  in  the  consideration  of  this  subject, 
as  we  know  from  the  nature  of  the  soul  Itself,  as  well 
as  from  the  plain  declarations  of  Scripture,  that  the 
sufferings  of  the  lost,  must  be,  in  the  main,  of  an  im- 
material and  mental  nature.  There  is  a  metaphor 
employed  by  the  Saviour,  in  speaking  on  this  subject, 
which  conveys  this  idea  most  significantly,  "  and  the 
worm  dieth  not."     That  worm  must  be  conscience. 

And  what  is  conscience  ?  Who  knoweth  ?  What 
is  the  reason  that  a  man  cannot  do  what  he  pleases 
with  perfect  impunity?  That  thing  we  call  conscience, 
is  a  mysterious  power.  Who  knoweth  the  power 
thereof?  O,  who  has  ever  known  the  extremity  of 
the  terrors  of  remorse,  when  conscience  has  been  per- 
mitted to  exert  its  full  force?  It  is  this — the  bit- 
terness of  remorse,  that  has  driven,  and  is  driving, 
thousands  on  thousands  of  strong-minded  men,  Judas- 
like, to  rush  on  the  crime  of  suicide.  They  can  rather 
encounter  the  pains  of  death,  and  risk  eternal  conse- 
quences in  another  world,  or  sink  into  utter  anni- 
hilation, than  support  the  tortures  of  their  own  guilty 
conscience.  It  is  a  profound  mystery.  But  there  is 
no  denying  the  reality  of  the  thing.  The  natural 
history  of  conscience  began  with  the  history  of  the 
first  man.  For  what  we  w^ould  call  the  most  trivial 
sin — the  merest  peccadillo,  he  would  fain  have  slunk 
away  from  the  presence  of  God  forever.  And  look  at 
Cain — a  fugitive,  and  a  vagabond,  saying,  "my  punish- 
ment is  (greater  than  I  can  bear." 

Judas,  there  is  no  doubt,  experienced  a  hell  in  his 
own  heart  hotter  than  the  flames  of  any  material  fire, 
when  he  brought  again  the  thirty  pieces  of  money,  and 


266  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

cast  tlicm  down  in  the  temple  at  the  officer's  feet, 
saying,  "  I  have  sinned,  in  that  I  have  betrayed  the 
innocent  blood,"  and  then  went  forth  and  hanged  him- 
self    This  is  self-torture. 

And  wliat  is  self-torture  but  conscience,  erected  in 
every  soul  as  the  avenger  of  God's  broken  law  ? 
Who  then  can  escape  the  penalty  of  his  crimes? 
Every  sin  becomes  an  instrument  of  jiunishment,  and 
a  tooth  of  remorse.  And  if  one  sin  could  change 
Eden  into  a  hell,  and  fill  the  cup  of  Adam's  perfect 
bliss,  with  the  dre^s  of  bitterness  throuijh  his  lonof  life; 
and  if  one  single  crime  could  make  Judas  seek  to 
bury  himself  in  eternal  darkness  in  order  to  lly  from 
his  own  conscience,  what  must  be  the  effect,  when 
every  sin  which  the  sinner  has  committed  in  a  long 
lifetime,  shall  begin  to  burn  in  his  conscience,  and 
there  shall  be  not  one  tooth  of  remorse  only,  but  a 
thousand  of  them  entering  into  the  soul  forever?  Of 
this  punishment  there  can  be  no  description  given. 
The  best  comparison,  perhaps,  is  that  of  the  man  in 
the  fable,  suffcrinir  the  venoeance  of  the  ancient  Tar- 
tarus,  by  having  his  liver  forever  gnawed  by  vultures, 
but  never  entirely  consumed. 

If  every  sin  becomes  an  instrument  of  punishment, 
of  course,  the  punishment  must  be  in  proportion  'to 
the  number  and  the  airirravation  of  the  sins  conmiitted. 
This  is  exact  justice.  The  wicked  are  to  gatht^r  what 
they  have  sown.  It  is  a  dreadful  thought.  But  they 
will  never  be  able  to  complain  against  the  justice  of 
the  dispensation.  When  God  created  that  mysterious 
facult)' — conscience,  and  made  it  a  })art  of  the  soul, 
lie  knew  what  lie  was  doing.    The  impressions  made 


THE    FUTURE    LIFE;    OR,    HEAVEN    AND    HELL.  26/ 

on  conscience,  as  well  as  on  the  memory,  may  some- 
times appear  to  be  effaced  for  a  season  ;  but  they  arc 
not  lost  nor  blotted  out.  These  faculdes  are  perfect, 
and  the  forgetfulness  is  only  temporary  and  partial. 
Every  impression  once  made  on  them,  will  be  recalled, 
and  will  be  as  lasting  as  eternity. 

5.  The  state  of  the  wicked  m  the  future  world,  is 
spoken  of  as  a  state  of  darkness.  "  Cast  ye  the  un- 
profitable servant  into  outer  darkness" — "  In  chains 
of  darkness  reserved  unto  the  judgn'ient  of  the  great 
day."  There  is  a  material  darkness,  and  there  is  also 
a  moral  darkness.  We  know  it  is  said,  that  light  is 
sweet,  and  truly  it  is  a  pleasant  thing  to  behold  the  sun, 
whether  it  be  the  natural  sun,  or  the  Sun  of  righteous- 
ness. In  the  absence  of  either  there  is  only  midnight 
o-loom.  But  no  sunlioht  will  ever  penetrate  the  thick 
darkness  that  will  setde  down,  forever,  on  the  prison- 
house  of  despair. 

But  what  is  moral  darkness,  supposing  that  to  be 
the  darkness  meant,  where  "chains  of  darkness,"  and 
"outer  darkness"  are  spoken  of?  We  understand 
that  despair  is  signified — the  darkness  of  despair.  No 
hope  ever  comes  to  the  inhabitants  of  that  world. 
**  There  shall  be  weeping,  and  wailing,  and  gnashing 
of  teeth."  But  it  is  more — it  is  the  darkiicss  of  sin, 
because  no  holy  influences  ever  reach  that  v/orld. 
The  Bible  is  never  read  there — the  Gospel  is  never 
preached  there — good  people,  and  good  angels  never 
come  there — the  Holy  Spirit  never  enters  the^re,  to 
strive  with  the  hearts  of  any  of  the  inhabitants.  But 
they  are  given  up  absolutely  to  the  dominion  of  sin, 
and  one  eternal  night  of  sin  setdes  down  on  that  prison- 


268  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

house  of  hell.  Imag-ination  cannot  picture  the  j^loom 
of  tliat  state. 

Tlic  word  '^ outer','  as  used  by  Jesus  to  describe  the 
darkness,  as  we  understand  it,  is  terribly  significant. 
We  may  not  know  the  exact  import  of  it.  But  if  hell 
is  a  place,  and  has  a  locality,  as  we  believe,  it  must  be 
at  a  distance  from  the  world  of  light — perhaps,  on 
the  very  outskirts  of  creation,  as  far  as  possible  from 
the  throne  of  God,  and  from  the  realms  inhabited  by 
the  blest,  so  that  there  can  never  be  any  intercourse 
between  the  two  worlds.  This  is  implied  in  what  is 
said  by  Christ  in  the  parable  of  the  rich  man  and 
Lazarus,  as  to  the  impossibility  of  sending  a  mes- 
senger to  that  world  of  darkness,  or  of  one  of  its 
inhabitants  coming  from  thence,  who  might  desire  to 
do  so.  "  There  is  a  great  gulf  fixed,  so  that  they 
which  would  pass  from  hence  to  you,  cannot;  neither 
can  they  pass  to  us  that  would  come  from  thence." 
We  know  not  what  the  great  gulf  is;  but  it  is  yixcd,'' 
implying  the  utter  impossibility  of  any  intercourse 
between  the  two  worlds. 

Of  course,  the  inhabitants  of  each  world  must  have 
some  knowledcfC  concernino-  the  condition  of  the  in- 
liabitants  of  the  other.  This  is  implied  in  the  words 
of  Jesus,  that,  Divez  saw  Abraham  "afar  off^  and 
Lazarus  in  his  bosom.  Yea,  ''afar  off" — so  far  off, 
that  no  mod(?rn  astronomer  will  ever  be  able  to  cal- 
culate the  distance,  unless  he  could  also  calculate 
the  extent  of  the  universe.  But  the  lesson  to  be 
learned  from  the  words  of  the  Saviour,  is  this:  that 
there  is  one  condition  of  the  lost  hereafter,  and  an- 
other condition  of  the  blest     and  that  they  who  revelled 


THE    FUTURE    LIFE ;    OR,    HEAVEX    AND    HELL.  269 

in  their  sensual  pleasures,  while  they  forgot  God's 
poor,  shall  know  that  while  they  are  tormented,  those 
whom  they  despised  and  oppressed,  are  resting  in  the 
bosom  of  Abraham,  in  the  kingdom  of  glory.  They 
will  have  a  perfect  knowledge  of  this  fact.  And, 
moreover,  memory  will  ever  be  busy,  bringing  up 
the  recollections  of  the  past,  thus  imbittering  yet 
more,  the  cup  of  wo,  of  which  they  have  to  drink 
eternally. 

Yea,  it  is  an  outer  darkness — somethincr  that  can 
never  be  fully  known,  except  to  those  who  shall  dwell 
•'in  chains  under  darkness"  unto  the  judgment  of  the 
great  day.  How  aptly  are  the  lost  souls  called  "wan- 
dering stars!" — stars  they  may  be  of  the  first  magni- 
tude, but  still  "  wandering  stars,"  which  have  been 
struck  from  their  spheres,  and  have  no  centre  of  attrac- 
tion, but  wander  on  those  outskirts  of  the  creation 
of  God,  in  Eternal  Night — to  whom,  as  Jude  says,  "is 
reserved  the  blackness  of  darkness  forever."  O  what 
a  description  !  O  what  a  destiny  I 

6.  Hell,  like  heaven,  will  be  a  society — but  a  society 
composed  entirely  of  the  enemies  of  God,  and  the 
workers  of  iniquity.  And  this  is  the  climax  in  the 
description  of  the  abode  of  future  and  everlasting 
despair.  What  could  convey  a  stronger  or  more  just 
conception  of  the  horrors  of  that  world  of  retributive 
wo,  than  the  idea  of  being  shut  up  together — separated 
forever  from  the  society  of  all  good  and  holy  beings? 
Think  of  a  community — a  company  dwelling  together 
always,  made  up,  as  Revelation  says,  of  dogs — of 
sorcerers,  and  whoremongers,  and  murderers,  and 
idolaters,  and  liars,  and  thieves !     Would  there  be  a 


2/0  -  MOSES   AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

tendency  in  sucli  an  association  to  ameliorate  the  con- 
dition or  character  of  any  of  the  members  composing 
such  a  society?  What  would  their  employment  be 
but  to  utter  mutual  imprecations,  and  gnash  their 
teeth,  accusing  one  another  as  having  been  instru- 
mental in  leadinij:  one  another  down  to  that  dismal 
world  ? 

The  society  of  hell  will  consist,  in  the  hrst  place,  of 
the  Devil  and  his  angels  ;  and  in  the  second  place,  of 
all  in  this  world  who  were  the  enemies  of  God,  and 
of  His  Son  Jesus  Christ,  including  all  idolaters,  all 
Sabbath-breakers,  all  profane  persons,  covenant- 
breakers,  murderers,  fornicators,  liars,  thieves;  all 
covetous  persons,  and  all  who  loved  pleasure  more 
than  they  loved  God — all  these  will  make  up  that  col- 
lection of  unclean  thincfs,  which  shall  constitute  the 
society  of  hell. 

It  would  be  a  terrible  punishment,  if  one  who  de- 
lights in  God,  and  in  the  communion  and  fellowship 
of  His  saints,  were  shut  up,  even  for  a  limited  time, 
with  a.  company  of  wicked  men,  and  compelled  to 
listen  to  their  profane  and  filthy  conversation,  and 
their  angry  curses.  But  even  this  would  be  a  para- 
dise, in  comparison  with  what  we  conceive  the  society 
of  hell  must  be.  "Come  not  thou  into  their  secret,  O 
my  soul ;  and  to  their  assembly,  mine  honor,  be  not 
thou  united !  " 

With  these  general  thoughts  as  to  what  has  been 
revealed,  and  may  therefore  be  definitely  known  by 
us,  concerning  the  future  state  of  the  lost,  we  turn  now 
to  the  more  pleasant  task  of  showing  what  the  Scrip- 
tures teach,  and   w^hat  therefore  we  can  know  with 


THE    FUTURE    LIFE;    OR,    HEAVEN    AND    HELL.  2/1 

some  deoffee  of  assurance,  as  to  the  future  state  of 
the  redeemed, 

II.  Heaven  Is  to  be  their  everlasting  home.  And 
what  is  comprehended  in  that  name,  may  be  inferred 
from  the  fact  that  it  is  the  antithesis  of  all  that  is 
meant  by  the  word  Hell.  For  example,  if  one  is  a 
world  of  darkness,  the  other  is  a  world  of  light;  if 
one  is  a  state  of  suffering  and  woe,  the  other  is  a 
place  of  joy  and  bHss ;  if  one  is  a  society  of  the 
damned — devils  and  depraved  spirits  ;  the  other  is  a 
society  of  the  pure  and  good — holy  angels,  and  the 
spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect,  eternally  associated, 
and  walkinfr  together  in  tiie  licjht  of  God's  counte- 
nance,  and  of  the  Lamb.  But  let  us  consider  more 
definitely,  some  of  the  principal  points  in  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  heavenly  state. 

I.  And  the  first  point  I  make,  is,  that  heaven  is  a 
place.  We  have  before  made  a  statement  to  the  ef- 
fect that  a  pure  spirit,  or  a  mind  without  body  or 
parts,  does  not  occupy  space.  And  if  this  were  all 
that  we  can  know  or  conjecture  on  this  subject,  we 
should  have  to  believe  that  heaven  is  rather  a  state, 
or  condition,  than  a  place.  But  we  know  that  our 
spirits  in  this  life,  are  imprisoned  in  houses  of  clay, 
dwelling  in  earthly  tabernacles  that  are  heavy,  bur- 
densome— that  weicjh  them  down  to  the  earth.  If  it 
were  not  for  this  bondage — this  gravitation  of  the 
gross  material  bodies  in  which  they  dwell,  they  could 
mount,  instantly,  on  the  wings  of  thought,  to  any  part 
of  the  universe  of  God.  For  spirits,  themselves,  do 
not  occupy  space  ;  and  they  could  not  be  confined  by 
space. 


272  MOSES    AND    THE    rillLOSOPHERS. 

What  is  the  spirit  or  tlic  r.oul  in  man  ?  It  is 
nothing-  else  but  his  will — his  power  of  thought. 
And  where  is  that  power?  It  i.s  not  in  the  soft  tlesh 
of  his  body — it  is  not  in  his  bones — nor  in  his  blood — 
nor  in  his  stomach — nor  yet  in  his  brain.  It  is  at  the 
indivisible  point  where  all  the  influences  of  the  nervous 
system  converge,  bringing  intelligence  of  the  outer 
world.  There,  at  that  indivisible  point,  the  soul  sits,  as 
on  its  throne.  The  soul  is  not  the  nervous  system — 
it  is  not  the  brain.  But  it  is  confined  there,  at  that 
point  in  the  region  of  the  brain,  without  occupying  as 
much  space  in  the  brain  as  would  be  covered  by  the 
millionth  part  of  the  point  of  a  needle.  And  yet  that 
powerful  spirit — tliat  all  but  almighty  will  of  man  is 
chained  and  held  there  at  that  indivisible  point  in  the 
heavy,  gravitating  mass  of  matter,  called  the  brain, 
which  forms  only  a  part  of  the  body,  in  which,  Paul 
says,  "we  groan  being  burdened,"  or  weighed  down. 

Suppose  the  connection  that  keeps  body  and  soul 
together  in  a  mysterious  union,  to  be  severed,  how 
lightly  the  spirit  would  soar,  like  a  bird  let  loose  from 
its  cage,  while  the  cumbrous  tabernacle  of  the  flesh 
would  drop  into  dust.  But  then  it  would  be  found 
''naked'' — that  is,  it  would  be  a  spirit  without  any 
body  or  covering-.  We  cannot  affirm  that  the  posses- 
sion of  some  kind  of  covering  or  garment  is  essential 
to  the  very  existence  of  spirit.  From  the  reasoning 
of  the  Apostle,  we  know  that  it  is  not.     He  says: 

"For  we  know  that,  if  our  earthly  house  of  this 
tabernacle  were  dissolved,  we  have  a  building  of  God, 
a  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens. 
I-'or,  in  this  we  groan,  earnestly  desiring  to  be  clothed 


THE  FUTURE  LIFE  ;  OR,  HEAVEN  AND  HELL.      273 

upon  with  our  house  which  is  from  heaven,  if  so  be, 
that  being  clothed,  we  shall  not  be  found  naked.  For, 
we,  that  are  in  this  tabernacle,  do  eroan,  beine  bur- 
dened  ;  not  for  that  we  would  be  unclothed,  but  clothed 
upon,  that  mortality  might  be  swallowed  up  of  life." 

Here  is  one  of  the  most  instructive  passages  in  the 
Bible ;  and  nothing  to  be  compared  with  it,  can  be 
found  in  all  the  volumes  of  natural  science  ever 
written.  The  Apostle  shows  that  when  the  old 
fleshly  tabernacle  is  dissolved,  or  when  the  soul  leaves 
it,  it  would  be  in  a  state  of  nakedness,  if  there  were 
not  immediate  provision  made  for  another  body,  or 
another  covering,  with  which  it  is  clothed  upon,  so 
that  it  is  not  left  in  a  state  of  nakedness.  And  this, 
let  us  bear  in  mind,  is  during  the  intermediate  state, 
which  elapses  between  death  and  the  resurrection. 
This  garment  or  covering  is  to  be  worn  by  the  soul, 
during  that  interval.  It  is,  if  we  may  say  so,  a  substitute 
for  the  resurrection-body,  until  the  resurrection  shall 
take  place,  in  the  last  day,  as  explained  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapter. 

So  then,  we  are  taught,  that  when  we  shall  drop 
this  heavy,  burdensome  body,  in  which  we  have  so 
long  groaned,  into  the  grave,  there  to  corrupt  till  the 
resurrection,  we  shall,  in  the  meantime,  be  furnished 
with  a  heavenly  body — an  ethereal  body ;  in  which  we 
shall  not  groan — which  shall  not  gravitate,  and  hold 
us  down  to  earth,  but  in  which,  radiant  and  gloriously 
adorned,  we  shall  be  prepared  to  soar  away  to  the 
home  above.  Thus  arrayed  in  heavenly  bodies,  no 
matter  how  ethereal  or  glorious  they  may  be,  it  is 
reasonable  and  natural  to  believe  that  they  will  oc- 
18 


274  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

ciipy  space,  and,  therefore,  we  conclude  that  heaven 
must  be  a  place,  as  well  as  a  state  or  condition. 

2.  A  chief  element  in  the  future  bliss  of  the  re- 
deemed, will  be  the  hoHness  of  heaven,  and  of  the 
society  of  which  they  are  to  form  a  part.  The  com- 
munion of  the  heavenly  world  is  to  be  composed  of 
all  pure  and  holy  beings,  who  will  be  united  together, 
and  bound  to  the  throne  of  God,  by  the  same  bond 
of  love.  This  is  the  reason  that,  as  we  understand, 
Charity  or  love  is  called  the  greatest  of  the  Christian 
graces.  It  is  to  survive,  when  faith  and  hope  shall  be 
swallowed  up.  It  is  to  live,  and  will  only  be  consum- 
mated in  heaven.  It  will  be  known  in  heaven  that 
"God  is  love,"  as  it  was  never  before  understood, 
when  the  redeemed  shall  bathe  in  the  ocean  of  His 
love  forever,  and  every  heart  shall  be  bound  to  every 
other  heart,  by  the  same  bond. 

3.  Another  element  in  the  joy  of  heaven  will  be  the 
perpetual  advancement  in  the  knowledge  of  God,  and 
of  His  works  and  ways  which  shall  be  made  by  the 
redeemed,  as  long  as  the  cycles  of  eternity  shall  re- 
volve. We  know  how  essential  knowledge  is  to  a 
rational  being,  in  any  state.  In  the  present  state,  all 
our  knowledge  is  imperfect — all  mixed  with  error. 
"Now  we  know  in  part,"  Paul  says,  "but  then  we 
shall  know  even  as  we  are  known."  All  this  imper- 
fect knowledge  is  to  pass  away  ;  and  then,  that  which 
is  perfect  shall  come,  when  we  shall  know  even  as  we 
are  known.  "Now,  I  see  through  a  glass  darkly,"  he 
further  says,  "but  then  face  to  face." 

What  is  here  affirmed  by  the  Apostle,  does  not  im- 
ply absolute  perfection  of  knowledge;   for  that  would 


THE    FUTURE    LIFE;    OR,    HEAVEN    AND    HELL.  275 

be  omniscience ;  and  there  is  none  perfect  in  knowl- 
edge, in  this  sense,  but  God.  He  only  is  omniscient, 
knowing  all  things.  But  what  we  shall  know  in 
heaven,  we  shall  know  without  error  or  mistake. 
How  different  will  be  the  state  of  our  knowledo-e 
from  what  it  is  in  this  world.  Human  knowledge  is 
so  mixed  up  with  error,  and  doubt,  and  uncertainty, 
that  the  wisest  of  men  can  never  tell  where  to  draw 
the  line  of  demarcation  between  what  is  true,  and 
what  is  false;  between  what  is  right,  and  what  is 
wrong,  even  in  matters  of  the  most  vital  importance, 
that  concern  their  interest  for  time  and  eternity.  It  is 
said  that  "to  err  is  human."  And  who  can  doubt  the 
universal  truth  of  the  maxim,  when  we  observe  that  in 
matters  of  science,  medicine,  divinity,  civil  jurispru- 
dence, and  philosophy,  those  who  are  esteemed 
learned  and  wise,  oppose  one  another;  and  that  even 
the  same  men,  often  change  their  views,  casting  aside 
systems,  which  they  had  regarded  as  the  very  embod- 
iment of  all  truth  in  philosophy,  in  theology,  and  in 
politics,  and  substituting  for  them  other  systems, 
which  will  probably  be  just  as  short  lived  as  those 
which  they  had  abandoned.  This  is  the  common  ex- 
perience, and  it  shows  that  there  is  no  knowledge 
which  we  can  count  on,  with  certainty,  except  that 
which  has  come  to  us  by  a  revelation,  directly  or  indi- 
recdy,  from  God,  The  knowledge  that  is  contained 
in  the  Bible,  never  changes,  and  never  gives  place  to 
other  systems  o{  knowledge,  because  it  is  absolute 
truth. 

There  is  something  truly  inspiring,  and  elevating  In 
the  thought,  that  we,  who  are  so  fallible  here  that  we 


276  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

are  liable  to  err  at  every  step  we  take,  and  never 
know  when  we  are  standing  on  sure  ground,  are  to 
rise  up  to  a  destiny,  where  we  shall  be  absolutely  in- 
fallible— where  there  will  be  no  limit  to  progress  in 
knowledge,  and  where  every  step  taken  will  be  free 
from  uncertainty,  without  any  supposition,  conjecture,; 
or  theory  about  it. 

Does  any  one  ask,  how  it  will  be  possible,  thus  to 
advance  in  knowledge  forever,  without  the  possibility^ 
of  exhausting  all  the  stores  of  knowledge,  and  be- 
coming, like  God  at  last,  omniscient?  To  this  it  may 
be  a  sufficient  answer  to  say,  first,  that  there  are 
themes  of  knowledge  which  are,  in  themselves,  infi- 
nite and  inexhaustible,  such  as  redemption,  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Trinity,  the  Godhead,  etc. ;  and,  secondly, 
that  the  fields  of  knowledge  are  boundless,  and  will 
be  ever  enlarging  as  the  mind  progresses  in  knowl- 
edge ;  therefore,  finite  minds  may  expatiate  in  them 
forever  without  ever  arriving  at  any  limit.  It  is  not 
too  much  to  say  that  a  finite  being  may  rise,  and  grow 
toward  the  similitude  of  the  likeness  of  God  eter- 
nally, without  the  possibility  of  becoming  a  God,  or 
equal  to  God, 

Should  we  attempt  just  a  little,  to  develop  this 
thought,  how  it  would  swell  this  volume.  But  this  we 
cannot  do  here.  However,  to  give  just  a  faint  con- 
ception of  what  we  mean,  let  it  suffice  to  say  that  the 
history  of  redemption,  will  be  entered  on  anew,  and 
continued  by  all  the  saints  when  they  get  home 
to  glory.  Adam,  who  lived  930  years  from  the  crea- 
tion, would  be  able  to  relate  a  thousand  things  that 
would  interest  every  celestial  inhabitant.     And  in  the 


THE    FUTURE    LIFE;    OK,    HEAVEN    AND    HELL.  27/ 

company  of  Abel,  Enoch,  and  Noali,  we  should  learn 
many  facts  in  the  history  of  redemption,  and  of  crea- 
tion, and  Providence,  in  respect  to  the  old  world,  con- 
cerning which  Moses  said  nothing,  or  only  gave  us, 
here  and  there,  an  obscure  hint,  just  enough  to  an- 
swer our  present  necessities,  and  to  awaken  the  desire 
to  know  more ;  which  desire  will  be  fully  gratified 
when  we  get  home,  and  are  set  down  with  Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  Jacob  in  the  kingdom  of  God. 

Aye,  it  will  be  something  in  the  cup  of  salvation  to 
be  associated  with  such  spirits  as  Abraham,  Isaac,  and 
Jacob,  and  Daniel,  and  Isaiah,  and  David,  and  John, 
and  Peter,  and  Paul,  and  to  rehearse  with  them,  on  the 
flowery  mount  above,  the  story  of  redemption. 

4.  The  inhabitants  of  heaven  are  to  be  without  sin. 
As  we  have  seen,  all  sin  has  been  banished  to  the 
other  world  ;  as  it  is  written  :  "There  shall,  iri  no  wise, 
enter  into  it,  any  thing  that  defileth,  neither  whatso- 
ever worketh  abomination,  or  maketh  a  lie ;  but  they 
which  are  written  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life." 

When  we  reflect  on  what  sin  is,  in  itself,  and  that  it 
changed  this  earth,  once  a  paradise,  into  a  vast  peni- 
tentiary; and  that  it  dug  the  pit  of  eternal  woe,  and 
has  even  turned  angels  into  fiends,  it  will  not  seem  a 
very  light  consideration,  that  heaven  is  a  place,  where 
no  sin  can  evdr  enter ;  where  all  the  inhabitants  are 
clothed  in  white,  the  emblem  of  their  perfect  and  ever- 
lasting holiness.  And  if  sin  shall  never  enter  there, 
of  course,  there  will  be  no  more  curse  ;  for  "  God  shall 
wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes ;  and  there  shall 
be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow,  nor  crying ;  neither 
shall  there  be  any  more  pain ;  for  the  former  things 
are  passed  away." 


2/8  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

In  that  world  of  lic^ht,  and  joy,  and  peace,  the 
beauty  of  hoHness  will  be  conspicuously  displayed — 
the  ,e;"lory  of  which  wicked  men  and  devils  never  had 
any  perception,  and  which  the  saints  in  this  present 
world  could  only  imperfectly  appreciate.  I>ut  it  is  the 
radiant  beauty  of  holiness  that  will  constitute  the  bliss 
of  heaven,  and  lend  an  additional  lustre  to  its  bricrht- 
est  irlories. 

5.  Heaven  is  a  place  of  rest.  "Tliere  remaineth, 
therefore,  a  rest  for  the  people  of  God."  Jesus  said  : 
"Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden, 
and  I  will  give  you  rest ;  take  my  yoke  upon  you,  and 
learn  of  me,  for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart,  and 
ye  shall  lincl  rest  unto  your  souls."  "And  I  heard  a 
voice  from  heaven,  saying  unto  me,  write,  blessed  are 
the  dead,  which  die  in  the  Lord  ;  yea,  saith  the  Spirit, 
that  they  may  rest  from  their  labors,  and  their  works 
do  follow  them."  Yes,  heaven  will  be  a  place  of  rest. 
There  "the  wicked  cease  from  troubling,  and  tlie 
weary  are  at  rest." 

To  a  laboring  man,  it  is  said,  that  "rest  is  sweet." 
But  one  who  has  never  labored — never  known  what 
it  was  to  be  weary  and  toil-worn,  is  not  in  a  condition 
to  enjoy  the  sweetness  of  rest.  Therefore,  the  saints 
are  not  to  have  their  rest  in  this  world.  Their  rest  is 
in  heaven.  And  in  order  to  have  the  greater  apprecia- 
tion and  enjoyment  of  that  rest,  they  should  know 
what  it  is  to  be  weary  and  toil-worn  in  the  Master's 
service — should  know  what  it  is  to  be  afflicted,  poor,, 
and  despised — to  be  persecuted  for  righteousness'' 
sake — to  endure  hardness  as  a  good  soldier  of  Christ 
— to  be  in  deep  tribulation  for  the  truth's  sake  ;  for  it 


THE    FUTURE    LIFE;    OR,    HEAVEN    AND    HELL.  279 

Is  thus  they  will  acquire  a  relish  for  the  rest  above. 
Unless  they  have  some  experience  of  these  things, 
they  could  form  no  part  of  that  company,  concerning 
whom  it  is  said,  "  these  are  they  who  came  out  of 
great  tribulation,  and  have  washed  their  robes,  and 
made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb." 

We  do  not  imao^ine  that  sinless  ano-els  who  were 
never  in  tribulation,  toil,  and  distress,  will  have  the 
same  appreciation  of  the  glorious  rest  of  heaven,  as 
the  soldiers  of  the  Cross,  like  Peter  and  Paul,  who 
were  worn  out  with  toiling,  and  fighting,  and  finally 
laid  down  their  lives  in  the  cause  of  Jesus.  They  can 
enjoy  the  rest,  when  they  enter  into  it.  They  will 
appreciate  the  crown  of  glory,  when  it  shall  be  placed 
on  their  brow.  They  who  were  never  sick,  are  not  in 
a  condition  to  know  the  meaning  of  the  word  health. 
Neither  can  they  who  were  never  away  from  home, 
appreciate  the  pleasures  of  home,  like  those  who  have 
been  long  absent,  among  strangers,  till  they  had  be- 
come heart-sick,  and  home-sick.  Aye,  there  is  a  use 
for  all  the  severe  discipline,  through  which  the  saints 
are  made  to  pass  in  this  vale  of  tears.  Every  bitter 
shall  have  its  sweet — there  will  be  "beauty  for  ashes," 
"  the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning."  And  there  may  be 
something  more  than  poetry,  in  the  beautiful  concep- 
tion of  Watts : 

"  There,  on  a  green  and  flowery  mount, 
Our  weary  sciuls  shall  sit; 
And  with  transportini^  jny  recount, 
The  labors  of  our  feet." 

6.  The  employments  of  the  heavenly  state,  are  to 
constitute  another  essential   ingredient  in  the  bliss  of 


280  MOSES    AND    THE    rillLOSOPIlEKS. 

heaven.  For,  though  heaven  is  a  place  of  rest,  as  we 
have  just  seen,  it  is  not  a  place  of  indolent  ease  or 
idleness.  We  do  not  believe  that  the  saints  would  be 
perfectly  happy  even  in  heaven,  if  they  had  nothing 
at  all  to  do.  It  seems  to  be  essential  to  the  very 
nature  of  the  soul  to  be  active, 

Adam  was  appointed  to  dress  and  to  keep  the 
garden  of  Eden.  Jesus  said:  "My  Father  worketh 
hitherto,  and  I  work."  The  holy  angels  are  never 
idle.  We  believe  they  are  ever  actively  employed  in 
God's  service.  One  part  of  their  service  is  to  minis- 
ter to  them  who  are  heirs  of  salvation.  And,  doubt- 
less, they  feel  that  they  are  honored  by  the  service, 
and  rejoice  in  it.  When  Paul  was  converted,  his  first 
word  was,  "Lord,  what  wilt  tliou  have  me  to  do?" 
This  shows  the  nature  and  the  promptings  of  a  Chris- 
tian spirit.  And  we  can  hardly  believe  that  when 
Paul — that  earnest  and  ardent  soldier  of  Christ,  laid 
down,  finally,  the  weapons  of  his  warfare,  and  went 
up  to  receive  his  crown,  he  would  have  been  content, 
after  a  long  life  of  such  active  service,  to  sit  down  on 
one  of  the  flowery  mounts  above,  in  a  state  of  utter 
rest  or  inactivity,  with  nothing  more  to  occupy  his  ac- 
tive powers  forever.  Unless  those  powers  were  de- 
stroyed or  annihilated,  he  would  still  want  scope  for 
their  exercise,  in  some  way,  for  the  glory  of  the  Re- 
deemer. And  would  there  be  no  way,  in  which  he 
could  put  forth  all  the  energies  of  his  greatly  improved 
and  expanded  faculties  ? 

That  heaven  is  not  a  place  of  inactive  ease  and 
idleness,  is  evident  from  several  considerations. 

I.  And  first,  every  passage  which  alludes  to   the 


THE    FUTURE    LIFE;    OR,    HEAVEN    AND    HELL.  281 

future  state  of  the  blest,  in  some  way,  directly  or  indi- 
rectly, represents  them,  as  being  actively  employed  in 
praising  or  serving  God.  Thus,  as  in  a  passage 
quoted  on  another  occasion,  we  see  the  host  of  the 
redeemed  standing  "before  the  throne  of  God,  and 
before  the  Lamb,  clothed  with  white  robes,  and  palms 
in  their  hands."  But  are  they  doing  nothing?  John 
says,  "  they  cried  with  a  loud  voice'' — no  feeble  notes,  no 
faint  praise — "  with  a  loud  voice,  saying,  salvation  to 
our  God  which  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the 
Lamb."  And  a  little  farther  along,  in  the  same  chap- 
ter, he  says,  "  therefore  are  they  before  the  throne  of 
God,  and  serve  Him  day  and  night  in  His  temple." 
They  are  united  in  that  service  ;  and  it  never  ceases 
day  nor  night ;  and  to  it  they  consecrate  all  their 
powers.  But  it  is  a  service  that  never  tires;  in  which 
the  worshippers  never  grow  wearied. 

2.  Another  consideration  which  has  already  been 
alluded  to,  showing  that  the  glorified  saints  will  ever 
have  their  active  mental  powers  vigorously  exercised 
in  the  service  of  God,  is  the  fact,  that  they  will  desire 
to  grow  in  knowledge,  and  that  they  will  rise  from 
one  decree  to  another  in  the  knowledge  of  God  and 
of  His  works,  through  all  eternity.  And  as  one  star 
differeth  from  another  star  in  glory,  so,  as  they  in- 
crease in  knowledi^e,  their  capacities  for  happiness 
will  be  enlarged,  and,  in  this  sense,  they  will  be  more 
and  more  like  God. 

An  ordinary  Christian  dying  now,  and  going  home 
to  heaven,  in  respect  to  his  attainments,  and  especially 
his  knowledge,  would  not  be  the  equal  of  David  or 
Paul,  who,  in  addition  to  the  attainments  which  they 


282  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

made  in  the  flesh,  have  been  advancino-  in  knowledcre 
ever  since  they  went  from  earth  to  heaxcn.  Oi^  course, 
he  would  be  Hke  them  in  respect  to  their  happiness, 
and  tlieir  robes  of  glory — he  would  see  them,  and 
converse  with  them — but  in  respect  to  their  attain- 
ments, he  would  be  no  more  their  equal,  than  Sir 
Isaac  Newton  when  a  little  boy  gathering  up  pebbles 
at  the  seashore,  was  the  equal  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton, 
when  he  iiad  scaled  the  heights  of  science. 

3.  Thc-re  is  still  another  consideration  that  further 
strengthens  us  in  the  belief  that  the  saints  in  glory 
are  not  to  spend  their  eternity  oi  bliss,  in  a  state  of 
idle  leisure  and  inactivity,  and  it  is  found  in  the  assur- 
ances given  us  in  Scripture,  that  they  are  to  be  hon- 
ored by  the  Captain  of  their  salvation  with  /)os/s  of 
trust  and  Jionor,  in  His  universal  dominion.  It  is 
probable  that  the  saints  are  to  be  exalted  to  a  posi- 
tion, above  every  rank  and  order  of  created  beings. 
There  are  various  passages  that  seem  to  convey  this 
meaning,  and  which  cannot  well  be  understood  in  any 
other  sense.  In  the  first  of  Revelation,  they  are  de- 
scribed as  praising  God,  and  saying:  "  But  unto  Him 
that  loved  us,  and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  His 
own  blooel,  and  hath  made  us  kings  and  priests  unto 
God  and  His  Father." 

Now  if  they  are  to  be  kings  and  priests,  we  con- 
clude that  there  must  be  stations,  corresponding  to 
these  names,  wliich  they  are  to  occupy.  They  cannot 
be  empty-sounding  titles.  Jesus  does  not  mock  His 
people,  by  the  promise  of  any  false  or  fictitious 
honors  in  His  kingdom. 

In  another   place  it  is  written,  "To  him    that  over- 


THE    FUTURE    LIFE;    OR,    HEAVEN    AND    HELL.  283 

Cometh,  will  I  grant  to  sit  with  me  in  my  throne,  even 
as  I  also  overcame,  and  am  set  down  with  my  Father 
in  His  throne."  Now,  what  can  we  understand  by 
this  ?  It  is  something  in  the  future — a  promise  to  be 
fulfilled  in  the  hereafter.  Jesus  did  not  sit  down  on 
His  throne  till  He  had  conquered — till  He  had  risen 
from  the  grave,  and  ascended  up  on  high.  And  His 
people  have  no  crowns  in  this  world — they  are  to  be 
crowned,  and  to  reign  hereafter.  Paul  exclaimed,  "I 
have  fought  a  good  fight ;  I  have  kept  the  faith,  hence- 
forth there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown,  which  the  Lord, 
the  righteous  Judge,  shall  give  me  in  that  day,  and 
not  to  me  only,  but  to  all  them  who  love  His  appear- 
ing." And  there  is  another  promise:  "Be  thou 
faithful  unto  death,  and  1  will  give  thee  a  crown." 

The  sum  of  the  matter,  then,  is  that  tlie  saints  are 
to  be  kinofs  under  Christ,  for  this  is  the  title  criven 
them.  They  are  to  wear  crowns,  for  this  is  promised; 
and  they  are  to  reign  with  Christ  and  to  sit  clown  with 
Him  in  the  throne  of  His  kingdom.  Now  all  this 
would  be  strange  language  to  be  used  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, if  it  were  entirely  without  meaning.  Can  we 
believe  that  Jesus  would  hold  out  such  prospects  and 
hopes  to  His  people,  merely  to  delude  and  disappoint 
them  ?  No,  the  expressions  we  have  quoted,  have  a 
wonderful  significance,  which  we  cannot,  at  present, 
comprehend.  He  hath  ordained  to  confer  honors  on 
His  people,  to  which  angels  and  archangels  were 
never  appointed.  They  are  the  kings  and  the  priests 
unto  God,  which  the  angels  are  never  said  to  be. 
They  are  to  be  vicegerents  and  vice-kings  under  Him, 
who  is  styled  the  "  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords." 


284  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

They  are  to  have  something-  to  do,  in  the  management 
of  the  universal  kinirdom. 

But  the  service  in  which  they  are  to  be  employed 
hereafter,  will  not,  like  the  service  required  in  this 
life,  involve  pain,  suffering  and  weariness  ;  but  it  will 
be  the  crowning  portion  in  the  cup  of  their  eternal 
joy.  We  will  not  attempt  to  develope  this  thought, 
in  the  present  chapter.  It  is  one  that  is  infinite  in  its 
proportions,  grand  and  sublime  beyond  mortal  con- 
ception. We  shall  try  in  the  next  and  closing  chapter 
to  cfive  a  dim  shadowinir  forth  of  that  oreatest  of  all 
thoughts,  that  ever  entered  even  the  Infinite  Mind; 
just  so  far  as  Revelation-  has  given  us  a  little  hint 
thereof,  and  as  much  as  we  are  able  to  receive  in  this 
imperfect  state.  For  the  present,  let  us  be  content 
with  the  assurance — that  "eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear 
heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart  of  man, 
the  things  which  He  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love 
Him." 


CHAPTER  X. 

The  Consummation  of  All  Things. 

The  mystery  of  God — "The  Intent"  —  "Manifold  Wisdom,"  "Abundant 
Grace" — To  be  made  known — Principalities  and  powers — Sinless  worlds — 
Only  two  revolted  worlds — No  knowledge  of  Grace  under  absolute  physical 
law — This  knowledge  revealed — The  glad  tidings — Millions  of  worlds — The 
distinction  conferred  on  our  earth — Jesus  never  died  but  once — -Thus  the  Grace 
was  manifested — Angels,  as  ministering  spirits — Minister  only  to  the  heirs  of 
salvation — Future  distinction  of  the  Redeemed  —  They  make  the  salvation 
known  in  other  worlds — Their  special  qualifications — They  will  be  Christ's 
coronated  heroes — Vicegerents  under  the  King  of  kings — Anthem  of  all  worlds 
— Perfect  glory — Profane  babblings  of  human  philosophers — Extracts — Phi- 
losophy of  the  Bible — Only  two  out  of  millions — Incidental  evil — God's  justice 
vindicated — The  Church,  the  Lamb's  wife — This  earth  the  birthplace — The 
City  of  God,  New  Jerusalem,  in  which  He  will  dwell  forever — Conclusion— 
An  Invocation. 

THE  author  feels  that  some  sort  of  apology  may- 
be due  for  even  seeming  to  venture  upon  a 
theme,  under  which  the  mind  of  the  great  apostle, 
the  grandest  of  all  men  since  the  Man  of  men  lived, 
seemed  to  labor  and  to  be  almost  at  a  loss  for  words, 
to  give  fit  utterance  to  the  wonderful  conceptions 
that  weighed  down  his  mind,  saying; 

"That  I  should  preach  among  the  Gentiles  the  un- 
searchable riches  of  Christ ;  and  to  make  all  men  see 
what  is  the  fellowship  of  the  mystery,  which,  "from  the 
beginning  of  the  world,  hath  been  hid  in  God,  who 
created  all  things  by  Jesus  Christ;  to  the  intent  that 

(28s) 


286  MOSES    AND   THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

now  unto  the  principalities  and  powers  In  heavenly 
places  might  be  known  by  the  church  the  manifold 
wisdom  of  God,  according  to  the  eternal  purpose 
which  He  purposed  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 

Tlie  passage  is  similar  to  another  that  is  found  in 
Second  Corinthians,  and  one  is  explanatory  of  the 
other: 

"■For  all  things  are  for  your  sake,  that  the  abundant 
grace  might,  through  the  thanksgivings  of  7nany,  re- 
dound to  the  glory  of  Godi" 

"All  things  are  for  your  sake,"  means  that  all  things 
were  created  by  Christ  Jesus  for  the  sake  of  the 
church,  to  the  intent,  that,  the  abundant  Grace — re- 
demption— might,  through  the  thanksgivings  of  many, 
saved  by  the  blood  of  Christ,  redound  to  the  glory  of 
God — in  other  words,  that  the  manifold  or  incompre- 
hensible wisdom  of  God,  might  be  made  known, 
according  to  His  Eternal  purpose. 

This  is  the  proposition,  in  general  terms,  contained 
in  the  words  of  the  apostle.  It  is  an  expression  of 
the  grandest  truth,  the  light  of  which  ever  dawned 
on  a  finite  intellect.  Let  us  try  to  analyze  the  thought, 
that,  looking  at  it  in  detail,  we  may  partially  compre- 
hend it,  and  thereby  make  some  profitable  advance- 
ment in  the  knowledcre  of  God. 

I.  In  the  first  place,  then,  let  it  be  observed,  that, 
God  had  a  purpose — an  ''intent'' — an  ''etei-nal  pur- 
pose " — as  the  apostle  speaks  of  it,  in  the  creation  of 
the  "heavenly  places,"  and  in  peopling  them  with 
such  a  countless  order  of  intelligent  existences,  called 
angels,  spirits,  principalities,  powers,  etc.     That   pur- 


THE    CONSUMMATION    OF    ALL    THINGS.  28/ 

pose  must  have  been  one  that  was  worthy  of  God. 
Paul  tells  us  that  it  was  to  make  known  His  own  glory 
— His  "abundant  Grace" — His  "manifold  wisdom  in 
Christ."  But  in  making  known  His  glory,  it  was 
necessary  to  reveal  Himself — that  is,  to  display  His 
perfections — His  glorious  holiness,  His  justice,  and 
His  mercy  as  well  as  His  wisdom  and  power. 

In  the  preparation  of  these  volumes,  which  have  so 
long  engaged  the  attention  of  the  author,  he  has  indi- 
cated, and  as  he  thinks,  has  proved,  that  without  a 
moral  government,  God  could  not  have  displayed  His 
moral  perfections.  There  is  no  human  philosophy 
that  can  discover  any  way,  by  which  knowledge  of  any 
kind  can  be  acquired  by  created  intellects,  except  by 
experience,  or  by  revelation.  This  was  shown  in  Part 
II.,  Chapter  IV. 

II.  In  making  a  full  revelation  of  Himself — that  is, 
in  making  known  His  "abundant  Grace" — "His  mani- 
fold wisdom  according  to  the  Eternal  purpose  which 
He  purposed  in  Christ  Jesus,"  God  wrought  out  the 
greatest  amount  of  good  that  was  possible  to  the 
created  and  intellio[-ent  universe.  Knowledije  is  the 
food  of  the  soul.  That  is  a  point  that  has  been  suffi- 
ciently insisted  on.  And  as  we  have  seen,  the  knowl- 
edge of  God  is  the  highest  kind  of  knowledge,  and 
the  knowledge  of  His  moral  perfections  far  more  ex- 
cellent than  that  of  His  physical  or  natural  attributes. 
And  so,  it  may  be  logically  and  properly  affirmed  that 
God  was  bound — that  is,  morally  bound — bound  by 
His  own  moral  nature,  to  make  a  full  display  of 
His  perfections,  as  this  was  essential  to  His  own 
glory,  and  to  the  highest  good  of  the  creature.     But 


288  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

to   whom    could    He    make    such   a   display   of   His 
glory  ? 

111.  This  question  brings  us  upon  the  threshold 
of  a  vast  theme  that  is  of  a  nature,  certainly  to  in- 
terest every  devout  and  inquiring  mind.  Paul  tells 
us  that  God  "  created  all  things  by  Jesus  Christ,  to 
the  intent  that  now  unto  the  principalities  and  powers 
in  heavenly  places  might  be  known  " — or  understood 
— "by  the  church"  —  or  tiirough  the  church  as  the 
medium — "  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God."  In  this 
sentence,  almost  every  word  has  an  infinite  signifi- 
cance anci  importance.  What  is  meant  by  the  prin- 
cipalities and  powers  in  heavenly  places? 

By  comparing  Scripture  with  Scripture,  we  are  led 
to  the  conclusion,  that  these  terms  signify  various 
and  high  orders  of  intelligent  beings,  that  people  the 
innumerable  worlds,  called  "  heavenly  places,"  that  fill 
the  expanse  of  the  heavens.  The  Scriptures  tell  us 
of  holy  angels — and  of  the  angels  that  kept  not  their 
first  estate,  but  were  cast  down  in  chains  of  darkness. 
We  read  about  legions  of  good  angels,  and  also  of 
"legions  of  devils."  In  this  present  world,  we  know 
that  there  are  saints  and  sinners  who  are  intelliofent 
beings,  and  also  an  infinite  multitude  of  inferior 
creatures,  of  higher  and  lower  orders. 

Reasoning  from  analogy,  we  feel  justified  in  saying 
that  the  countless,  beautiful  worlds  which  God  hath 
made,  and  which  He  guides  in  their  orbits,  are  full  of 
joyful  life.  This  earth — the  air,  the  land,  the  water, 
all  teem  with  life.  And  it  would  not  be  in  accordance 
with  what  we  know  of  the  ways  of  God,  to  believe  that 
all  other  worlds  are  tenantless — that  they  were  created 


THE   CONSUMMATION    OF    ALL   THINGS.  289 

for  no  Other  purpose  but  to  garnish  our  heavens  at 
night.  Analogy  requires  us  to  beheve  that  they 
abound  with  inhabitants,  many  of  whom  may  be 
equal  intellectually,  if  not  superior  to  man. 

There  is  hardly  a  reasonable  doubt,  that  many  of 
them  are  endowed  with  high  powers  and  noble  in- 
stincts, and  that  they  perfectly  obey  the  laws  of  their 
physical  nature,  without  the  possibility  of  any  de- 
parture therefrom,  in  the  same  sense  that  Adam  and 
Eve  were  governed  before  the  moral  system  was  in- 
troduced— living  without  sin  or  the  possibility  of  sin, 
in  their  oriijinal  and  created  innocence — lovinor  and 
serving  the  Father  supreme,  just  because  it  is  their 
nature  to  do  so — subsisting  on  the  spontaneous 
and  abundant  productions  of  the  beautiful  globes 
prepared  as  their  perpetual  habitations,  as  Adam  and 
his  children  would  have  reigned  on  this  earth,  if  there 
had  been  no  curse — having  no  knowledge  of  sin,  and, 
therefore,  none  of  holiness,  nor  of  reward  and  pun- 
ishment— endowed  with  high  intellectual  powers,  and 
able  to  explore  the  realms  of  physical  science,  but 
having  no  ideas  of  anything  Included  in  the  realm  of 
moral  science — rejoicing  in  the  love  of  one  another, 
and  in  the  love  of  the  Divine  Father,  but  having  no 
need  of  a  Saviour,  and,  therefore,  no  knowledge  of 
"the  abundant  grace,"  and  of  "the  manifold  wisdom 
of  God  in  Christ." 

We  have  no  knowledge,  by  Revelation  or  other- 
wise, that  sin  ever  invaded  any,  except  two,  of  the 
unnumbered  provinces  which  constitute  the  material 
empire  of  Jehovah,  namely:  this  earth  on  which 
we  dwell,  and  that  spiritual  realm  originally  de- 
19 


290  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

sic^necl,  and  prepared  as  tlie  abode  of  the  angelic 
hosts. 

We  know  how  sin  entered  into  this  world,  and  what 
the  result  was.  We  do  not  know  how  sin  entered 
heaven;  but  the  Scriptures  are  clear,  as  to  the  fact, 
that  a  part  of  tlie  angels  fell  by  transgression  ;  and 
that  others  maintained  th<^'ir  integrity,  and  stood  firm 
in  their  allegiance  to  God;  and  that  as  to  those  who 
fell,  no  salvation  was  provided  for  them;  but  that 
those  who  persisted  in  their  integrity  have  been  con- 
firmed in  their  holiness. 

There  may  be  other  habitable  worlds  in  existence, 
that  God  took  out  from  under  the  operation  of  physical 
rule,  and  placed  under  a  moral  system  ;  but  we  have  no 
positive  knowledge  of  any  except  the  two  now  named. 
And  there  is  not  one  iota  of  proof,  that  can  be  drawn 
from  analogy,  reason,  or  Scripture,  that  any  other 
world  ever  revolted  from  God,  or  ever  experienced 
the  effects  of  sin.  No  matter  to  what  extent  they 
multiply  "die  heavenly  places,"  we  must  believe  that 
they  are  sinless  worlds,  inhabited  by  intelligent  and 
happy  beings,  order  above  order,  and  rank  above 
rank. 

They  may  have,  it  is  true,  only  a  limited  knowledge 
of  the  Creator.  But,  to  the  extent  of  that  knowledge, 
they  worship  Him  supremely.  God  has  kept  them 
waiting  till  the  fulness  of  time,  when  He  would  give 
them  a  more  full  revelation  of  Himself — when  He 
would  communicate  to  them  the  knowledge  ot  His 
•'abundant  grace,"  and  of  His  "manifold  wisdom"  in 
the  salvation  of  sinners,  not  by  the  actual  experience 
of  sin,  and  of  its   fearful  consequences,  but  by  direct 


THE    CONSUMMATION    OF   ALL    THINGS.  29I 

revelation  tlirough  the  ministry  of  angels,  who,  having 
a  perfect  knowledge  thereof,  could  make  known  to 
them  the  mystery  of  the  Cross,  and  of  the  redemp- 
tion which  Jesus  the  Son  of  God  wrought  through 
His  blood  on  Calvary,  on  the  theatre  of  that  revolted 
world,  known  among  the  planetary  worlds  as  the 
earth. 

Let  us  conceive  such  a  world  as  we  have  supposed 
— peopled  with  happy  beings  in  a  state  of  conscious 
innocence — having  no  experience  of  death  or  any  of 
the  effects  of  sin — havinor  no  knowledcre  of  erace  nor 
of  salvation,  but  revelling  in  the  bounties  of  the  ma- 
terial creation,  and  basking  in  the  radiance  and  light 
of  God's  material  goodness  to  them,  without  any  per- 
ception of  that  brighter  light  that  emanates  from  the 
sun  of  righteousness.  If  we  could  imagine  such  a 
world,  may  we  not  believe  that  he  would  be  a  wel- 
come visitant,  who  should  be  sent  to  them  from  this 
earth,  or  direct  from  the  throne  of  God,  to  make 
known  the  love  of  God  to  a  ruined  and  apostate 
world,  in  giving  His  "only  begotten  Son  that  whoso- 
ever believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish  but  have 
everlasting  life." 

On  receivini^  such  a  revelation,  the  first  emotion 
might  be  a  momentary,  feeling  of  incredulity — this 
would  probably  be  succeeded  by  a  feeling  of  wonder 
— and  this  would  be  followed  with  joy — and  then, 
there  would  be  a  burst  of  praise.  They  would  hardly 
be  able  to  believe  the  news  at  first,  till  properly  au- 
thenticated— then  they  would  be  filled  with  wonder  at 
such  love — then  they  would  be  transported  with  rap- 
turous joy  at   the   discovery  that  the  great  Creator, 


292  MOSES    AND    TUK    ViWljOSOPUERS. 

whom  thoy  worshipped  ami  adored  (or  His  goodness 
and  wisdom,  was  a  God  of  such  boundless  love  as 
they  had  never  conceived  of — and  this  would  lead  to 
higher  strains  of  praise  than  any  ever  before  heard, 
going  up  from  all  the  temples  of  that  sinless  world. 
And  thus,  though  they  had  always  been  blest  because 
free  from  sin,  this  glad  tidings  would  be  an  addition 
to  their  cup  of  bliss,  and  almost  make  it  to  overflow. 
And,  if  such  a  revelation  of  "the  abundant  (jrace"  of' 
God  would  so  greatly  enhance  the  joy  of  their  exist- 
ence, may  we  not  believe  that,  as  Paul  says,  God  must 
have  purposed  this  result  from  eternity? 

But,  as  we  have  seen,  analogy  shows  that  there  arc 
more  than  one  or  two  habitable  crlobes  in  existence, 
Paul  speaks  of  a  plurality,  when  he  makes  mention 
of  "the  heavenly  places" — and  philosophers  reckon 
the  habitable  worlds  by  millions.  And  what  God 
would  do  for  the  joy  and  happiness  of  one  world,  we 
must  suppose,  that  He  would  be  willing  to  do  for  all. 
If,  then,  there  are  a  million  or  a  thousand  million  of 
those  "heavenly  places,"  all  alike  peopled  by  sinless 
and  happy  hosts — the  principalities  and  powers — He 
could  just  as  easily  make  known  His  abundant  grace 
in  Christ  to  all,  as  to  one. 

IV.  In  the  consideration  just  advanced,  there  is  evi- 
dence that  the  death  of  Christ  was  designed  to  take 
effect,  not  on  the  inhabitants  of  this  earth  alone,  but 
the  inhabitants  of  all  worlds.  It  is  the  medium 
through  which  alone,  the  mercy — the  abundant  grace 
of  God,  is  made  manifest.  It  could  never  have  been 
known,  if  Jesus  had  never  died  ! 

Therefore,  Jesus  died  once — but  only  once,  that  the 


THE    CONSUMMATION    OF    ALL   THINGS.  293 

universe  of  intelliofent  beings  mio-ht  have  a  full  and 
true  knowledge  of  God,  in  all  the  glorious  perfections 
of  His  nature.  I  affirm  the  proposition,  that,  this 
knowledge  could  never  have  been  the  inheritance  of 
any  finite  intelligence  in  the  universe,  if  there  had 
been  no  atonement  for  sin  ordained  and  provided. 

This  knowledge  did  not  come  by  the  fall  of  the 
rebel  angels,  for  there  was  no  abundant  erace  ex- 
hibited  in  their  case.  And  if  God  had  pardoned  the 
rebel  angels  without  any  satisfaction,  that  would  have 
been  a  sacrifice  of  law  and  justice,  and  there  -would 
have  been  no  abundant  grace  in  a  pardon  like  that. 
"The  abundant  erace  " — the  love  consisted  in  main- 
taining  the  law  of  holiness,  by  giving  His  Son  to 
suffer  its  penalty  in  the  place  of  the  guilty.  This 
idea  has  been  fully  brought  out  in  another  part  of  this 
work. 

Therefore,  there  was  a  necessity,  as  God  is  love, 
that  Christ  should  suffer  the  penalty  of  death  for 
sinners  on  the  theatre  of  some  globe,  that  the  imi- 
verse  might  have  a  full  e.xhibition  of  God's  character, 
as  a  God  of  grace.  But  it  was  not  necessary  that  He 
should  taste  of  death  more  than  once.  He  never 
died  but  once  ;  and  that  was  when  He  died  on  Cal- 
vary. Though  there  may  be  millions  or  billions  of 
worlds  in  existence,  the  inhabitants  of  no  other  frlobe 
ever  witnessed  the  death  of  the  Son  of  God.  And 
further,  we  do  not,  and  we  cannot  conceive  that  sin 
ever  invaded  any  other  province,  except  the  two  be- 
fore specified;  or,  that  there  was  a  necessity  for  Christ 
to  die  for  sinners  on  any  other  globe. 

Why  it  was  that  the  eternal   Father  selected  this 


294  MOSES    AND    THE    rillLOSOPHERS. 

eartli,  so  insi^rnlficant  in  comparison  with  many  other 
M'orkls,  to  b(^  the  theatre  of  the  most  momentous  and 
solemn  event  that  ('ver  transpired  in  any  world,  He 
only  can  know  ;  for  He  miL;ht  have  selected  any  other 
world  as  well.  And  if  it  h;id  pleased  Him  to  select 
some  other  world  as  the  th(^atre  of  redemption,  then 
Adam  and  his  numerous  offsprini^r  mii^ht  have  been 
revellinLT  still,  in  all  the  material  and  carnal  delights  of 
a  paradisaic  world — free  from  sin  and  death,  governed 
alone  by  laws  of  instinct  and  necessity,  as  materialists 
say  that  we  are  ruled — only  without  sin  or  any  of 
the  consequences  of  sin,  to  which  we  are  now  subject. 

But  if  this  had  been  the  pleasure  of  the  Supreme 
Father,  then  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  Good  and  Evil, 
must  have  grown  on  some  other  earth  ;  and  the  curse 
of  sin  would  have  fallen  on  that  earth, — and  there 
would  have  been  a  Calvar)-  there — and  J(;sus  would 
have  died  there  to  make  an  atonement,  that  the 
"abundant  Grace"  of  God  might  be  known — and 
then,  we,  the  children  of  Adam,  would  have  been 
kept  w^aiting  the  fulness  of  time,  till  some  angel  or 
messenger  should  come  from  that  world,  to  brino-  us 
a  revelation  of  the  mercy  of  God,  showing^ that  He 
could  so  love  an  apostate  and  ruined  world,  that  He 
"gave  His  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  be- 
lieveth  in  Him,  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting 
life." 

Rut  instead  of  waiting  for  a  revelation  to  be  brought 
from  some  other  and  distant  world,  the  tragedy  of 
Redemption  is  enacted  on  the  theatre  of  our  earth; 
and  the  knowledge  of  the  scheme  of  Ciod's  boundless 
love  developed  here,  is  to  be  perpetuated  and  to  be 


THE    CONSUMMATION    OF    ALL   THINGS.  295 

conveyed  bv  messengers  from  this  world,  as  we  are 
led  by  the  words  of  Paul  to  beHeve,  to  the  inhabitants 
of  milHons  of  other  worlds.  This  brings  us  directly 
to  the  question,  by  whom  is  the  knowledge  of  "the 
abundant  Grace"  to  be  published,  or  made  "  known 
to  tlie  principalities  and  powers  in  heavenly  places?" 

V.  The  Scriptures  show,  clearly,  that  it  is  a  part  of 
the  economy  of  God's  system  of  government,  to  em- 
ploy various  instrumentalities,  and  second  causes,  in 
the  furtherance  of  His  designs.  Thus,  He  sends  His 
angels  on  missions  to  our  world,  to  carry  out  designs 
which  doubtless  He  could  accomplish  without  their 
ao-ency.  The  Bible  is  full  of  accounts  concerningr 
their  visits,  and  the  nature  of  the  visits  on  which  they 
are  sent.  No  saint  can  doubt  or  disbelieve  these 
accounts.  Some  of  them  may  seem  miraculous,  or  of 
the  nature  of  supernatural  events,  as  doubtless  they 
were;  as  when  an  angel  walked  in  the  fiery  furnace 
with  the  three  servants  of  God  ;  or  again,  when  an 
angel  kept  Daniel  in  safety  when  cast  into  the  den 
of  lions  ;  or  lastly,  when  an  angel  was  sent  to  bring 
Peter  out  of  his  prison. 

But  on  the  authority  of  the  Word,  we  are  justified 
in  the  belief  that  there  is  a  ministry  of  an  ;els,  which 
is  not  to  be  regarded  as  specially  miraculous,  but 
which  is  common  to  the  children  of  God,  or  which,  at 
least,  is  rendered  to  all  who  shall  be  the  heirs  of  sal- 
vation. Jesus  said,  that,  when  Lazarus  died,  he  was 
carried  by  the  angels  to  i\braham's  bosom  ;  implying 
that  they  are  ministering  spirits  who  had  waited  on 
him,  and  strengthened  him,  as,  perhaps,  they  strength- 
ened Jesus  in  His  agony  in  Gethsemane ;  and  then, 


296  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

were  ready  at  his  decease,  to  bear  his  soul  on  thcnr 
pinions  home  to  the  Paradise  above.  Jesus  did  not 
by  this,  intend  to  teach  that  Lazarus  had  any  special 
or  pecuHar  favor  conferred  on  him.  The  lesson  con- 
veyed by  His  words,  is,  that  every  child  of  God,  even 
though  he  be  as  poor  and  afflicted  as  Lazarus  was, 
should  even  count  it  a  joy  to  suffer  for  the  name  of 
Christ,  since  he  is  so  honored  of  God,  and  has  angels 
to  minister  to  him. 

What  does  Paul  say  on  this  subject  ?  "And  o(  the 
angels  He  saith,  Who  maketh  His  angels  spirits;  and 
His  ministers  a  flame  of  fire."  And  again,  "Are  they 
not  all  ministering  spirits  sent  forth  to  minister  for 
them  who  sliall  be  heirs  of  salvation?"  Christ  said, 
concerning  little  children,  "Verily,  I  say  unto  )ou,  that, 
in  heaven  their  angels  do  always  behold  the  face  of 
my  Father  who  is  in  heaven." 

There  are  some  weak  Christians  who  can  hardly  be- 
lieve these  things  true.  They  have  great  reason  to 
pray  for  an  increase  of  their  faith.  Why  should  they 
doubt,  when  they  read  of  what  God  hath  done,  and 
what  He  intends  to  do  for  His  church?  ''All  tJiiuQ-s 
are  yours" — this  is  said  concerning  the  churcli — "all 
things  are  yours  ;  whether  Paul,  or  Apollos,  or  Cephas, 
or  the  world,  or  life,  or  death,  or  things  present,  or 
things  to  come;  all  are  yours;  and  ye  are  Christ's; 
and  Christ  is  God's." 

The  inference  from  all  this  is,  that  since  it  hath  en- 
tered into  the  scheme  of  God's  <7overnment  to  use  the 
ministry  of  inferior  beings  in  carrying  out  His  glorious 
designs,  and  since,  as  we  know  from  the  Scriptures, 
He  hath  pursued  this  plan  in  conducting  the  affairs 


THE    CONSUMMATION    OF   ALL   TllLNGS.  297 

of  this  world,  there  Is  no  reason  to  conclude  that  He 
will  not  adhere  to  this  policy  of  using  the  ministry  of 
angels  in  reference  to  the  affairs  of  other  worlds.  If 
His  dominion  is  extended,  includino-  thousands  and 
millions  of  worlds,  many  of  which  may  be  larger  than 
this,  analogy  as  well  as  the  plain  teachings  of  the 
Bible  require  us  to  believe,  that  messengers  may  be 
sent  out  from  the  eternal  throne  to  any,  or  all,  of  these 
worlds,  whenever  the  King  of  kmgs  may  have  occasion 
to  employ  any  of  His  ministers  as  vicegerents,  in  ser- 
vice of  this  kind. 

But  the  impression  on  our  mind  from  the  words  of 
Paul,  leads  us  to  say,  that  not  the  angels  who  had  been 
created  to  minister  to  the  heirs  of  salvation,  are  to  be 
the  ministers  or  vicegerents  of  God  hereafter,  to  visit 
those  other  countless  w^orlds,  peopled  by  sinless  inhab- 
itants, in  order  to  make  known  to  them  "the  abundant 
Grace"  of  God;  but  that  those  heirs  of  salvation 
themselves  who  had  been  ministered  unto  by  angels, 
after  they  have  ceased  to  be  heirs,  and  after  they  have 
been  made  kings  and  priests  unto  God,  and  have 
received  their  crowns  and  their  commissions — that 
they,  and  not  the  angels,  are  to  have  the  honor  and 
the  distinction  of  makinor  known,  and  nublishino-  In  all 
those  worlds,  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God  in  Christ. 
We  read  of  no   other  vicegerents  —  no   other  order 

o 

of  kings  and  priests  under  the  King  of  kings,  but  the 
redeemed  saints.  They  are  to  reign  with  Him,  or  to 
reign  under  Him. 

The  most  literal  construction  that  can  be  put  on 
the  words  of  Paul  justifies,  and  even  requires  this 
conclusion.     In  what  other  sense  can  we  understand 


298  M;).si;:s  AM)    I'lii".  riiiLo.^oriiKRS. 

the  plirase,  ''  mig^ht  be  known  b}-  the  church,"  to  the 
principalities  in  heavenl)'  places,  except  that  the  knowl- 
ed^re  of  this  manifold  wisdom,  and  abundant  Ciracc  in 
Christ,  is  to  be  communicated  to  the  inhabitants  of 
all  those  worlds,  by  the  church — the  heirs  ol  salvation 
— those  who  had  been  redeemed  ?  Every  one  saved 
by  Grace,  and  who  had  washed  his  robes  and  made 
them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  will  be  a  mem- 
ber of  that  church,  called  "the  (jeneral  assembly  and 
Church  of  the  First-born  in  heaven."  It  is  by  thciu, 
or  iJirough  than  as  agents,  that  knowledge  of  ihe 
abundant  Grace  is  to  be  published. 

The  expression — "might  be  known  by  the  church" 
— has  a  twofold  significance.  The  church  is  to  be, 
both  passively  and  actively,  the  medium  through  which 
the  knowledoe  of  Grace  is  to  be  made  known  in  all 
worlds.  And  first,  passively  ;  because  without  a  re- 
deemed church,  there  would  be  no  Grace,  and  no 
knowledge  of  Grace.  The  redeemed  church  is  the 
very  embodiment,  or  the  outward  expression  of  God's 
infinite  Grace  and  Lovt;  in  Christ.  There  are  no  other 
subjects  of  Grace  but  th(.'  members  of  the  redeemed 
church.  For  that  reason,  doubtless,  they  are  called 
His  "Jcwelsy  The  sinless  angels  are  not  subjects 
of  Grace.  The  sinless  inhabitants  of  those  myriads 
of  worlds  floating  in  the  immensity  of  space,  and 
ruled  by  physical  law,  are  not  subjects  of  grace. 
Hence,  the  knowledge  of  "  the  alAnuLuU  Grace  "  must 
be  ''by  the  c/iurchy 

But  it  would  be  in  vain  that  Christ  died  on  Cal- 
vary, as  far  as  the  inhabitants  of  other  worlds  are 
concerned,  if  the   story  of  the  cross  should   never  be 


THE    CONSUMMATION    OF    ALL    THINGS,  299 

published,  or  made  known  among  them.  And  this  is 
to  be  done  by  the  kin_y;s  and  the  priests,  whom  Christ 
hath  ordained  to  this  work.  This  is  the  other  im- 
portant sense  in  which  the  words  of  the  apostle 
are  to  be  understood.  The  redeemed  are  to  be, 
actively  as  well  as  passively,  the  medium  tlirough 
whom  the  wonderful  and  manifold  wisdom  is  to  be 
made  known. 

This  is  a  great  mission  in  store  for  the  trophies  of 
Grace.  Wherever  there  is  a  bright,  shining  world 
that  dots  the  map  of  God's  boundless  empire,  peopled 
with  intelligent  and  happy  beings,  there  the  story  of 
Calvary  is  to  be  made  known.  And  ransomed  saints, 
having  received  their  immortal  crowns,  and  reignlno- 
under  Christ,  are  to  be  the  heralds  to  publish  the 
tidings  from  world  to  world. 

An  important  reason  in  support  of  this  view,  is  the 
fact,  that  the  redeemed  saints  alone  will  possess  the 
requisite  qualifications  for  acting  the  part  of  messen- 
gers or  heralds,  in  making  known  the  story  of  redemp- 
tion to  the  principalities  and  powers  in  all  the  heavenly 
places.  For,  being  themselves  the  monuments  of 
grace,  having  on  the  blood-washed  garments  of  sal- 
vation, and  bearing  in  their  persons  the  very  marks 
of  the  Grace  of  God,  they  could  speak  of  salvation 
and  make  known  the  abundant  Grace,  as  neither  sin- 
less angels  nor  archangels  could  do.  Does  all  this 
seem  like  a  fiction  or  a  dream  ? 

Reader,  thou  mayest  never  have  had  thy  thoughts 
called  to  this  high  theme, — but  ask  thyself,  what  God 
made  all  those  bright,  shining  habitable  worlds  for. 
Could  there   have  been   a   higher  end,   or   one  more 


300  MOSES    AND    TIIK    PHILOSOPHERS. 

worthy  of  God,  than  that  given  by  Paul — "who  created 
all  things  by  Jesus  Christ;  to  the  intent  that  now  unto 
the  princij^alities  and  powers  in  heavenly  places  might 
be  known  by  the  church,  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God, 
according  to  the  eternal  purpose  wliicli  He  purposed 
in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord."  "  Unto  Him  be  glory  in 
the  church  by  Christ  Jesus  throughout  all  ages,  and  in 
all  worlds." 

VI.  Let  us  now  briefly  contemplate  the  exaltation, 
or  the  preferments  awaiting  the  redeemed  of  God. 
If  we  have  given  the  right  interpretation  to  the  words 
of  Scripture,  we  must  believe  that  there  are  peculiar 
honors  and  dignities  in  reserve,  for  the  ransomed  sons 
and  daughters  of  God.  In  a  previous  chapter,  our 
attention  was  called  to  the  vision  of  John,  in  wliich  he 
beheld  the  hosts  of  God  above,  in  the  order  in  which 
they  worship  about  the  throne,  and  heard  their  ascrip- 
tions, in  which  the  ransomed  hosts  seemed  to  occupy 
a  place  in  front  of  the  an^iels,  or  higher  both  in  their 
apparel,  and  in  the  nature  of  their  worship. 

Now  we  have  a  view  of  them  in  their  redeemed  and 
triumphant  state,  going  forth  as  kings  and  priests, 
with  commissions  from  the  Kini2-  of  kincrs,  speeding 
their  way  on  the  wings  of  light  and  love,  to  those  dis- 
tant stars  and  planets  made  and  ruled  by  Him,  some 
of  which  are  now  scarcely  visible  even  with  the  help 
of  a  telescope — going  to  those  distant  worlds,  as  vice- 
gerents and  plenipotentiaries  of  King  Jesus — and  on 
what  errand?  to  make  known  to  the  principalities  and 
powers, — to  all  the  holy  and  intelligent  inhabitants  of 
those  celestial  worlds,  '' tJic  abundant  Grace" — to  tell 
them  the  story  of  the  Cross — to  carry  the  proclama- 


THE   CONSUMMATION    OF   ALL   THINGS.  3OI 

tion  which  they  had  never  heard  before,  that  "  God  is 
Love ! " 

They  had  ever  known  God  to  be  great,  and  wise, 
and  good;  and  they  had  worshipped  Him  accordingly. 
But  they  had  known  nothing  of  His  moral  perfections 
— nothinof  of  His  Grace — nothing-  of  His  infinite  Love. 
But  now,  there  comes  a  messenger  from  the  throne 
— a  radiant  beincr  clothed  in  the  garments  of  salvation, 
bright  and  shinmof  as  the  li^rht,  brino-ino-  a  mcssaofe  of 
glad  tidings,  which  shall  spread  joy  among  all  the  in- 
habitants of  that  world.  And  that  messencrer  is  Paul, 
or  Peter,  in  their  robes  of  light  and  salvation,  and 
wearing  their  crowns.  Or,  perhaps,  it  is  only  the  once 
poor,  and  humble,  and  afflicted  Lazarus.  It  is  no  idle 
promise  that  Jesus  holds  out  to  the  faithful;  "To  him 
that  overcometh  will  I  grant  to  sit  down  with  me  in 
my  throne,  even  as  I  overcame  and  am  set  down 
with  my  Father  in  His  throne." 

VII.  Now  we  are  not  to  be  charged  with  presump- 
tion, if  we  ask,  what  was  the  ultimate  end  to  be 
developed  in  this  wondrous  scheme  of  redemption. 
Doubtless,  that  end  has  a  double  aspect,  embracing 
both  the  glory  of  God  and  the  highest  possible  good 
of  the  creature.  These  are  so  related  that  we  may 
say,  God  could  not  manifest  His  glory  without  pro- 
moting the  happiness  of  His  intelligent  creatures ; 
and,  also,  intelligent  creatures  would  scarcely  have 
any  capacity  at  all  for  happiness,  without  some  knowl- 
edge of  the  glory  of  God.  We  do  not,  and  we 
cannot  affirm  that  the  countless  hosts  of  sinless 
beings,  peopling  the  myriads  of  God's  worlds,  stand 
in  need  of  an  experimental  knowledge  of  the  grace 


302  MOSES   AND   THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

and  love  of  God.  Let  us  carefully  f^uard  a^^alnst  any 
such  idea.  But,  not  being  under  a  moral  dispensation, 
and  havino-  no  knowledge  of  sin,  they  have  no  need 
of  a  Saviour.  lUit  when  they  shall  learn  in  what  way 
others  sinned,  and  how  they  were  saved  by  grace,  this 
revealed  knowledcfe  will  awakcMi  new  thoutdits  and 
emotions,  and  give  them  views  of  the  character  of 
God  that  will  thrill  them  with  joy  and  wonder.  They 
will  never,  no!  never  listen  with  mdifference  to  the 
story  of  Calvary  !  That  story  falls  on  man\-  a  listless 
human  car,  and  not  a  single  emotion  is  awakened, 
and  not  a  tear  is  shed.  Puit  it  will  not  be  so,  when 
the  same  story  shall  be  rehearsed  to  the  white-winged 
ones  inhabiting  those  distant  spheres. 

Suppose  that  one  of  the  red(.'emed  has  received  his 
commission  from  King  Jesus,  as  an  innumerable  mul- 
titude are  to  be  thus  commissioned,  and  shall  speed 
his  way  on  the  wings  of  the  morning  light,  with  a  rain- 
bow of  love  encircling  his  brow,  to  one  of  those 
beautiful  worlds  enlightened  by  Sirius,  or  some  other 
distant  star,  to  tell  the  inhabitants  of  the  love  of 
Jesus,  as  exhibited  in  His  death  on  the  Cross,  and  can 
we  believe  that  such  news  would  fall  upon  listless 
cars?  They  had  never  known  anything  of  the 
nature  of  sin,  but  had  always  loved  and  served  God  , 
and  if  they  could  comprehend  that  story  of  Calvary, 
it  would  be  the  most  wonderful  tidings  that  ever  fell 
on  their  ears — and  the  news  would  ijo  from  one  to 
another  till  every  one  should  catch  the  sound  ;  and 
there  would  go  up,  as  in  the  angel's  son^  one 
universal  burst  of  praise,  "Glory  to  God  in  the 
highest!" 


THE    CONSUMMATION    OF    ALL    THINGS.  3O3 

The  fundamental  truth  in  the  whole  scheme  is,  that 
"God  is  love."  There  is  no  system  of  religion  in  the 
world  that  recognizes  this  first  principle,  but  Christi- 
anity. And  Christianity  is  the  scheme  that  was  de- 
vised by  God  himself,  to  develop  this  truth  that  ''God 
is  lovc^'  to  the  crlory  of  His  name,  and  tb.e  highest 
good  of  the  created  universe.  God  must  have  been 
infinitely  pleased  when  the  angels  first  proclaimed  the 
glad  tidings  of  great  joy,  which  should  be  to  all  people. 
And  when  that  choral  soncr,  then  first  beo-un,  shall  be 
sung  and  echoed  in  every  heavenly  place,  on  every 
habitable  globe  in  the  mighty  universe,  swelling  up 
from  every  heart  as  it  shall  be  thrilled  with  the  news, 
that  Jesus  died  on  the  Cross — that  the  Lamb  was 
slain  on  Calvary  to  save  lost  sinners,  till  all  the 
worlds  shall  learn  the  news,  and  join  in  the  chorus, 
"Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,"  we  must  believe  that 
God  will  be  infinitely  pleased  with  the  song,  and  that 
He  will  be  glorified,  because  His  Son  is  thus  honored. 
And  His  chosen  warriors  who  fouQht  and  died  in  His 
cause — His  coronated  heroes  who  participated  in  His 
triumphs,  will  be  the  chosen  messengers,  to  make 
known  His  glory  in  the  distant  spheres,  till  there 
shall  be  one  general  jubilee  of  praise  swelling  up  to 
God,  from  one  end  of  the  universe  to  the  other — 
something,  perhaps,  like  that  which  John  heard  in 
his  visions,  saying : 

"And  I  beheld,  and  I  heard  the  voice  of  many 
angels  round  about  the  throne,  and  the  beasts,  and 
the  elders;  and  the  number  of  them  was  ten  thousand 
times  ten  thousand  and  thousands  of  thousands; 
saying,  with   a  loud   voice,   worthy  is  the  Lamb  that 


304  MOSES    ANI^    Till-:    I'lIlLOSOPlIF.KS. 

was  slain,  to  receive  power,  and  riches,  and  wisdom, 
and  strength,  and  honor,  and  glory,  and  blessing. 
And  every  creature  which  is  in  heaven,  and  on  the 
earth,  and  under  the  earth,  and  such  as  are  m  the 
sea,  and  all  that  are  in  them  heard  I,  sa\  intr,  blessino- 
and  honor,  and  glory  be  unto  Him  which  sitteth  upon 
the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb  forever  and  ever.  And 
the  four  beasts  said,  Amen." 

And  would  not  this  be  the  perfection  of  glory  ? 
Here  we  see  the  consummation  of  that  purpose  of 
wisdom  and  grace,  which  God  from  eternity  purposed 
in  Christ,  and  which  it  has  been  our  aim,  in  these  vol- 
umes, to  develop — a  glorious  universe,  at  last  rejoicing 
in  the  love  of  God,  and  with  one  voice  praising  Him 
for  His  "abundant  grace."  Can  science  or  philosophy 
offer  anything  in  comparison  with  tliis  ?  Can  they 
find,  in  creation,  a  plan,  a  motive,  or  a  design  worthy 
the  Infinite  Creator?  Hear  what  a  Christian  scientist 
has  to  say : 

"Without  question,  we  yield  to  nature,  precedence 
in  the  order  of  time.  Nature  was  before  man. 
Through  immeasurable  aeons,  the  processus  of  her 
phenomena,  in  all  their  varied  beauty,  sublimity  and 
terror,  had  moved  on  with  no  human  spectator  to  ob- 
serve them.  The  upheaval  of  the  continents ;  the 
slow  subsiding  of  the  seas  ;  glaciers  and  icebergs  ; 
volcanic  fires  and  steamy  mists — hot,  cold,  moist,  and 
dry,  striving  for  mastery,  '  o'er  many  a  frozen,  many  a 
fiery  Alps;'  gigantic  flora  blooming  and  decaying; 
monsters  of  reptile  and  animal  life,  the  spawn  of 
chaos  and  night ;  all  these  had  been,  and  had  left 
their  record  upon  the  surface  of  the  globe;  inorganic 
nature,  organic  nature  ;  life,  vegetable,  insect,  animal 
— all  had  passed  on  and  on  through  timeless  epochs 


TPIE    CONSUMMATION    OF    ALL   THINGS. 


6^0 


of  duration,  without  one  trace  of  man." — Dr.  TJiomp- 
soji  s  Alan  in   Genesis  and  Geology. 

The  above  was  written  by  a  doctor  of  divinity  to 
harmonize  the  Bible  with  false  science.  And  all  these 
"immeasurable  ceons"  and  "timeless  epochs" — these 
terrific  revolutions — glaciers,  icebergs,  upheavals,  sub- 
sidences, animal  monsters,  etc.,  the  spawn  of  chaos 
and  night — all  came,  and  all  had  passed  away  before 
there  was  any  trace  of  man.  How  can  this  be  recon- 
ciled with  Paul,  that,  in  the  befrinnino-  God  created  all 
things,  "to  the  intent"  that  angels  and  men,  and  all 
created  intelligences  might  know  the  glory  of  God 
through  the  redemption  of  the  Church. 

Perhaps,  the  writer  of  the  above  paragraph,  held 
that  God  was  not  the  author  of  the  horrible  state  of 
things  he  describes.  He  speaks  of  nature,  but 
he  makes  no  mention  of  God.  Old  chaos  and  ancient 
night  spawned  their  horrible  spawn.  "Nature  was 
before  man  " — to  nature  we  yield  the  precedence — 
inorofanic  nature — organic  nature.  What  does  he 
mean  by  nature?  Did  nature  during  those  immeas- 
urable ceons,  produce  the  upheavals,  the  glaciers,  the 
terrific  monsters,  etc.  ?  The  writer  could  not  have 
meant  this,  for  he  claimed  to  be  a  Christian.  We  are 
really  grieved  to  find  so  many  good  men,  carried 
away  by  their  love  of  false  science,  and  babbling  all 
manner  of  nonsense. 

Another  preacher,  converted  to  the  evolution  phi- 
losophy, wrote : 

"The  world  is  a  great  puzzle,  even  to  men  enlight- 
ened  by  Scripture,  and   the   Insoluble   questions   rise 


306  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

like  mountains  on  every  side,  from  wliatever  stand- 
point a  man  looks  out  in  this  world,  and  mere  human 
reason  unaided,  so  far  as  I  can  ouess  or  see,  cannot 
make  any  consistent  or  coherent  administration  of 
affairs.  1  know  not  if  it  would  be  possible  to  prove 
the  Divine  benevolence,  merely  by  tliat  part  of  the 
world's  history  which  we  understand  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  matter,  in  the  organization  of  life,  in  the 
bewildering  forces  that  surround  men  on  every  side. 
In  the  stupendous  cruelties,  as  we  should  regard 
them  from  our  standpoint,  men  could  scarcely  reason 
out  a  benign  Deity.  The  ancients — the  heathen  gen- 
erally met  the  difficulty  by  multiplying  gods,  and 
giving  some  beneficence,  and  some  malignity ;  and 
the  history  of  affairs  was  the  strife  between  the  two. 
But  we  are  not  allowed  that,  and  the  problem  of  life 
is,  how  to  solve  the  co-existence  of  all  forms  of  sel- 
fishness, of  cruelty,  and  of  d(?stroying;  for  we  do  not 
get  rid  of  a  difficulty  by  refusing  to  see  it.  When  we 
look  at  the  organization  of  life  upon  the  globe,  the 
first  thing  that  meets  the  eye  is,  that  the  principle  of 
destructiveness  is  the  organizing  principle." — Beecher. 

The  evolutionist  from  his  standpoint,  "■  cannot  7'cason 
out  a  benionatit  Deity.''  Of  course  not;  and  this 
method  of  reasoning  is  logically  calculated  to  drive 
any  man  into  atheism.  John  Stuart  Mill  acknowl- 
edo^ed  that  it  had  this  effect  on  him.  And  there  are 
many  atheists  in  our  time,  made  so  by  the  same  logic. 
What  a  relief  from  this  overcast,  dark,  and  miserable 
scepticism,  to  turn  to  the  philosophy  of  the  Bible.  It 
is  there  we  obtain  liofht.  God  created  all  things  Q-ood 
— perfect.  The  blight  of  sin  is,  at  present,  resting 
upon  this  earth.  This  accounts  for  the  sc/Jis/uicss,  the 
cruelty,  the  destructiz'e?iess.  But  God  reigns,  and  the 
consummation  is  to  be  glorious. 


THE    CONSUMMATION    OF    ALL   THINGS.  307 

There  are  several  important  corollaries  or  logical 
sequences  that  naturally  flow  out  of  the  great  theme 
which  has  been  discussed,  on  which  we  desire  to  fix 
attention  before  we  close  this  chapter,  and  say  our 
work  is  done. 

I.  And  first,  as  viewed  from  this  standpoint  of 
God's  "  eternal  purpose"  in  Christ,  how  limited  is  the 
amount  of  evil  as  compared  with  the  good,  m  the 
universe  of  God — two  revolted  worlds,  and  only  two, 
but  millions  that  never  apostatized,  and  never  felt  the 
blight  of  sin  !  The  eternal  purpose  of  God  in  Christ, 
as  expounded  by  Paul,  requires  us  to  believe  this. 
And  we  believe  it — sincerely  and  devoutly  believe  it. 

Reasoning  from  analogy  we  are  forced  to  the  con- 
clusion, that,  as  astronomers  assure  us,  the  number  of 
globes  in  existence  is  immense ;  and  that  they  are  as 
well  fitted  to  be  the  abodes  of  life,  as  that  on  which 
we  dwell.  And  why  should  we  not  believe  the  inter- 
nal arrangements — the  physical  order,  harmony,  and 
beauty  prevailing  on  the  surface  of  those  multiplied 
worlds  to  be  as  perfect  as  we  know  the  great  physical 
laws  to  be,  that  ever  hold  them  in  their  orbits  ? 

If  we  credit  the  Mosaic  record,  this  world  was  most 
beautiful  at  first ;  and  there  was  no  sin,  no  death,  no 
cruelty,  no  selfishness,  no  destructiveness  among  its 
inhabitants.  "  God  saw  every  thing  that  He  had 
made,  and  behold  it  was  very  good."  And  this  is  just 
what  we  should  be  led  to  expect  of  a  good  and  ^'be- 
nign DeityT  And  if  God  made  man  "  upright,"  in 
His  oivii  image — if  He  made  this  world  a  beautiful 
and  perfect  world — and  if  He  made  every  thing  in  it 
"very  good,"  then,  we  must  believe  that  He  made  all 


30S  MOSF..S    AND    TFIF.    rillLOSOPHERS. 

the  infinite  worlds   that  may  l)c  in   existence,  with  all 
that  appertains  to  them,  in  the  same  way,  very  good. 

Now  if  the  Scriptures  authorize  the  belief,  that,  in 
the  midst  of  so  vast  an  cmpu'e,  there  have  been  but 
two  revolts — that  sm  has  brought  disorder,  confusion, 
and  death  into  two  worlds  only  among  the  millions 
that  dot  and  bespangle  the  heavens  of  God,  then  we 
may  ask,  can  the  pagan  philosopher,  can  the  atheist, 
or  can  the  evolutionist  show  anything  to  compare  witlv 
this  ? 

In  what  way  would  they  prove  that  all  the  other 
worlds,  which  they  believe  to  exist,  are  not  just  as  full 
of  deformity,  cruelty,  and  destructiveness  as  the  world 
in  which  we  live?  Could  nature,  or  whatever  it  may 
be  which  they  seem  to  deify ;  or,  could  the  principle 
of  evolution  work  out  more  favorable  results  on  other 
globes  than  it  has  done  on  our  own  earth  ?  To  ask 
is  to  answer  the  question.  And  the  answer  involves 
a  thought  that  is  absolutely  terrific,  from  which  we 
turn  away  with  a  sense  of  loathing  and  abhorrence. 

The  evil  abounding  in  this  world  may,  to  us,  seem 
great,  because  of  our  very  limited  views ;  but  as 
viewed  in  reference  to  the  created  universe,  it  may  be 
almost  nothin"",  or  as  no  more  than  a  f^rain  of  sand 
compared  to  the  globe.  God  might  have  planted 
that  mystic  "  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and 
evil,"  on  some  other  earth,  and  that  earth  would  have 
been  the  theatre  of  sin,  and  then  we  should  have  es- 
caped the  curse.  But  our  earth  had  the  honor  of  this 
distinction,  and  for  this  we  say  that  we  render  ten 
thousand  thanks.  And  this  is  suorofestive  of  another 
important  corollary. 


THE    CONSUMMATION    OF    ALL   THINGS.  3O9 

2.  The  evil  introduced  into  this  world  by  the  moral 
system  brought  in,  through  disobedience  in  eating  the 
fruit  of  that  forbidden  tree,  was  incidental — while  the 
good  to  accrue  from  it,  will  outweigh  the  evil  by  im- 
measurable degrees,  and  will  redound  to  the  glory  of 
God,  and  the  increased  happiness  and  joy  of  the  intel- 
lio^ent  universe. 

Death,  it  is  true,  was  the  penalty  of  transgression. 
But  transgression  was  by  the  law,  and  death  by  sin  ; 
and  throucjh  the  entrance  of  death,  orace  came,  and 
by  grace  a  redeemed  Church  ;  and  by  a  Church  re- 
deemed by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  glory  to  God  ;  and 
through  the  manifestation  of  God's  glor}',  the  highest 
good  possible  to  the  universe  of  created  intelligences. 
These  are  the  links  in  the  chain  that,  at  present,  binds 
the  imiverse  to  the  footstool  of  God,  and  not  one  of 
these  links  may  be  broken  out  of  the  chain. 

The  reasoning  of  Paul,  that  God  "  created  all  things 
by  Jesus  Christ" — all  worlds,  with  all  the  creatures 
and  all  the  furniture  belonging  to  them — to  the  intent 
that  His  manifold  wisdom  in  Christ — His  love — His 
holiness — His  saving  mercy  might  be  exhibited  or 
made  manifest  to  the  hiMier  orders  of  beines  in  all 
the  heavenly  places,  carries  with  it  the  idea,  that  the 
universe  is  to  be  benefited  by  the  death  of 'Christ. 
And  this  idea  aijain  involves  the  thoueht  that  since 
the  universe  of  created  intelligences  participates  in  the 
benefits  of  the  death  of  Christ  on  Calvary,  there  was 
no  necessity  of  His  dying  more  than  once. 

Tiie  Son  of  God  died  for  sinners,  in  the  sense  that 
He  made  an  expiation  for  the  guilt  of  their  sins,  and 
redeemed  them  to  God  by  His  blood.     But  He  died 


3IO  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

for  the  sinless  inhabitants  of  other  worlds,  to  the  in- 
tent that  "the  abundant  Grace,"  or  the  "manifold 
wisdom  "  of  God,  mi^ht  be  made  manifest  unto  them, 
that  they  mij^ht  know  God  more  perfectly,  and  wor- 
ship Him  in  higher  strains  than  would  have  been 
possible  without  any  such  manifestation. 

This  manifestation  of  the  glory  of  God  is  to  be  made 
hereafter,  as  we  have  before  explained,  through  or 
by  the  mi.'.istry  of  the  redeemed  saints.  What  sanc- 
tified Christian  heart  does  not  exult  in  the  prospect 
of  bjing  one  of  the  vicegerents  of  Jesus,  for  making 
the  tour  of  distant  worlds,  "  to  make  known  the 
exceeding  riches  of  His  Grace,  in  the  ages  to  come!" 

3.  Another  corollary  from  the  system  of  doctrine 
herein  developed,  may  be  stated  thus:  if  only  one  sin- 
ner is  lost  through  wilful  apostacy  or  unbelief,  to  every 
thousand,  or  thousand  million  of  souls,  who  are  directly 
or  indirecdy  blest  through  the  redemption  in  Christy 
there  can  never  be  any  charge  of  injustice  brought 
ao-ainst  the  throne  of  God.  There  is  not  a  devil  in 
hell — there  is  not  an  apostate  rebel  against  the  grace 
of  God,  who  will  not  be  speechless. 

We  have  no  means,  of  course,  for  determining  the 
relative  proportions  of  the  finally  saved  and  lost.  But 
when  we  take  into  consideration  the  fact  that,  i)rob- 
ably,  one-half  the  children  of  Adam  die  in  infancy, 
who,  as  we  believe,  are  all  saved  through  Christ,  and 
whose  souls  are  just  as  valuable  in  the  e)'e  of  God  as 
the  souls  of  adult  persons,  because  we  believe  in  the 
equality  of  souls ;  and  also  take  into  consideration 
this  other  important  fact,  that,  during  the  millennial 
age,  when  nearly  if  not  quite  all  who  shall   be   born 


THE    CONSUMMATION    OF    ALL   THINGS.  3II 

on  the  earth,  will  be  trained  up,  and  will  live  and  die 
as  Christians,  we  are  furnished  with  substantial  data 
from  which  to  draw  the  conclusion,  that  the  relative 
numbers  of  those  who  will  be  finally  lost,  may  be  small 
as  compared  with  those  who  shall  be  saved. 

But  these  numbers,  vast  though  they  may  be,  dwindle 
almost  to  nothing-  as  compared  with  the  millions  of 
millions,  and  billions  of  billions  of  beautiful  and  bright 
inhabitants,  dwelling  in  all  those  heavenly  places  that 
fill  the  starry  heavens,  who  are  to  be  mediately  blest, 
and  to  have  a  richer,  fuller  cup  of  joy  placed  to  their 
lips,  through  the  redemption  of  Christ. 

The  number  of  the  lost  may  not,  at  last,  bear  any 
greater  proportion  to  the  whole  number  who  shall  be 
benefited  by  the  scheme  of  redemption,  than  the  num- 
ber of  those  erratic  wanderers  called  comets,  bears  to 
the  fixed  stars  which  are  numbered  by  millions,  and 
always  revolve  in  their  proper  orbits,  while  the  former 
only  number  a  few  scores  or  hundreds,  that  seem  like 
lost  stars  having  been  struck  out  of  their  proper 
spheres,  and  emitting  only  an  uncertain  and  fiery 
glare. 

There  will  be  bar:?Iy  enough  lost  to  show  the  de- 
formity of  sin,  and  tbie  justice  of  God  in  the  punish- 
ment thereof;  and  by  this  display,  the  Beauty  of 
Holiness,  by  contrast,  will  shine  all  the  brighter  in  the 
eyes  of  the  ransomed  hosts. 

Free-will  was  a  peculiar  gift,  conferred  only  on 
Adam's  race,  and  the  Elect  angels.  It  was  the  very 
image  of  God.  All  other  created  beings  in  heaven 
above,  on  the  earth  beneath,  and  under  the  earth,  are 
governed    by  absolute    law.      These,   of  course,   are 


312  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

inferior,  not  intellectually  it  may  be,  but  in  their  physi- 
cal state,  as  it  is  a  fixed  state — whereas  those  endowed 
with  freedom  of  will,  mi^^ht  fall  from  their  state,  or  rise 
to  a  hii^her  condition,  the  contingency  depending  on 
an  act  of  their  own  free-will.  But  falling  thus,  their 
fall  becomes  their  crime,  wherefore,  they  will  be  com- 
pelled eternally  to  say,  Anicn  to  the  justice  of  the 
sentence,  by  which  they  are  banished  from  the  holy 
presence  of  God. 

The  place  of  their  everlasting  banishment,  usually 
spoken  of  as  Jicll,  in  the  Scriptures,  will  be  an  eternal 
monument  erected  somewhere  on  the  remote  outskirts 
of  creation,  to  the  praise  of  the  Divine  justice.  But 
all  the  rest  of  the  unnumbered  worlds  will  be  full  of 
love,  and  light,  and  joy;  and  vocal  with  the  praises 
of  God  and  of  the  Lamb,  for  His  abounding  grace. 

4.  Another  inference  from  the  great  thtMiie  which 
has  been  discussed,  that  gives  us  joy,  however  it  may 
affect  infidel  minds,  has  respect  to  the  preference  given 
to  our  material  earth,  when  it  was  selected  as  the 
theatre  on  which  to  enact  the  tragedy  of  Calvary. 
When  we  reflect  that  it  was  the  Son  of  God  who  died 
there,  to  accomplish  redemption,  and  thus' prove  to 
the  universe  that  "God  is  L(Jve  ;  "  and  also,  that  He 
only  died  once,  and  that  He  is  never  to  repeat  that 
tragedy  on  the  theatre  of  any  other  globe,  we  have 
reason  to  think  that  our  earth  was  peculiarly  favored. 

What  if  this  distinction  did  necessitate  a  moral  con- 
stiliilion,  and  the  existence  in  Eden  of  that  mystic  tree, 
by  the  fruit  of  which  came  the  curse,  that,  for  ages 
and  centuries,  seemed  to  derange  all  things,  sowing 
the  seeds  of  disorder,  confusion  and  death,  and  even 


THE    CONSUiMMATION    OF    ALI.    THINGS.  313 

turning-  professed  philosophers  into  fools,  what  of  that? 
— the  redeemed  church  was  constituted — was  born 
on  this  earth — and  that  church  is  "  the  Bride  " — "  the 
Lamb's  wife." 

That  church  is  New  Jerusalem — "the  city" — "the 
habitation  of  God,"  in  which  He  is  to  dwell,  and  have 
His  throne  forever.     That  church   has   been  orrowino- 

o  o 

from  the  death  of  Abel,  the  first  martyr,  or  the  first 
polished  stone  set  in  that  temple  of  grace  ;  and  it  is  to 
grow  till  the  last  one  of  God's  jewels,  which  He  is 
gathering,  shall  be  made  up,  and  all  set  to  shine  for- 
ever and  ever,  in  the  crown  of  the  King  of  kings. 
And  as  we  reflect  that  God  formed  the  universe  for 
the  sake  of  this  church,  and  for  the  express  purpose 
of  preparing  it  as  a  bride  for  the  Lamb,  wc  must  say 
that  it  is  no  small  distinction  that  our  earth  was  made 
the  birthplace  of  that  Bride,  when  there  were  so  many 
other  worlds  that  mio-ht  have  been  chosen  to  this 
honor.  And  this  is  suggestive  of  another  corollary, 
the  last  we  shall  state  as  flowincr  out  of  the  theme  we 
have  discussed. 

5.  God  is  to  dwell  in  the  midst  of  His  church  for- 
ever. It  is  to  be  the  place  of  the  throne.  Naturalists 
cannot  tell  where  the  centre  of  universal  gravity  is. 
One  of  them  has  made  a  calculation  on  the  subject, 
as  follows : 

"Behold,  then,  the  power  of  God!  Each  solar 
system  has  a  centre  of  gravity,  around  which  all  its 
members  revolve,  from  the  minutest  to  the  mightiest 
of  its  worlds.  If  there  were  only  a  thousand  or  a  mil- 
lion of  such  systems,  then  would  the  centre  of  gravity 
of  each  and  every  one  of  them   revolve   around  the 


314  MOSES    AND    THE    PHILOSOPHERS. 

common  centre  of  all ;  and  the  whole  component 
system,  or  s)'stem  of  systems,  would  be  the  universe. 
"Or  a^jain,  if  there  were  a  hundred,  a  thousand,  or 
a  million  of  these  systems,  they  would  revolve  as  one 
grand  harmonious  whole  around  a  common  centre  of 
motion.  Conceive  this  process  to  be  continued,  until 
the  whole  actual  universe  be,  if  possible,  exhausted, 
and  it  will  still  be  true  that  all  worlds,  and  all  systems, 
and  systems  of  systems,  revolve  about  a  common 
centre  of  gravity.  That  common  centre  of  the  uni- 
verse is,  may  we  not  suppose,  God's  throne — the  seat 
of  His  omnipotence — and  thence  all  worlds,  and  all 
systems,  and  all  atoms  move  with  equal  ease,  obedient 
to  His  touch." 

This  is  the  nearest  approximation  we  have  ever 
seen,  towards  ascertaining  the  centre  of  the  universe, 
and  the  place  of  the  throne;  and  we  could  not  seriously 
object  to  the  reasoning,  if  we  could  believe  that  God 
is  a  material  being,  or  that  His  universe  is  wholly  a 
material  empire.  But  we  think  that  it  has  a  moral 
aspect,  and  in  that  light  we  must  regard  it.  St. 
John  gives  altogether  a  more  reliable  account,  when, 
in  continuing  his  description  of  New  Jerusalem,  he 
says : 

"And  the  city  had  no  need  of  the  sun,  neither  of 
the  moon  to  shine  in  it;  for  the  glory  of  God  did 
liijhten  it,  and  the  Lamb  is  the  lioht  thereof.  And 
the  nations  of  them  which  are  saved,  shall  walk  in  the 
light  of  it;  and  the  kings  of  the  earth  do  bring  their 
glory  and  honor  into  it.  And  the  gates  of  it  shall  not 
be  shut  at  all  by  day ;  for  there  shall  be  no  night 
there. 

"And  He  showed  me  a  pure  river  of  water  of  life, 
clear  as  crystal,  proceeding  out  of  the  throne  of  God, 


THE    CONSUMMATION    OF    ALL    THINGS.  3I.5 

and  of  the  Lamb.  In  the  midst  of  the  street  of  it, 
and  on  either  side  of  the  river,  was  there  the  tree  of 
Hfe,  which  bare  twelve  manner  of  fruits,  and  yielded 
her  fruit  every  month  ;  and  the  leaves  of  the  tree  were 
for  the  healing  of  the  nations.  And  there  shall  be  no 
more  curse  ;  but  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb 
shall  be  in  it,  and  His  servants  shall  serve  Him.  and 
they  shall  see  His  face,  and  His  name  shall  be  in  their 
foreheads.  And  there  shall  be  no  night  there  ;  and 
they  shall  need  no  candle,  neither  light  of  the  sun  ;  for 
the  Lord  God  giveth  them  light,  and  they  shall  reign 
forever  and  ever." 

Is  God  indeed  to  be  enthroned  in  the  midst  of  His 
redeemed  church!  Then  that  must  be  the  centre! 
Of  course,  the  above  is  a  highl)- figurative  description. 
But  it  is  the  church  m  glory  which  is  thus  described, 
by  the  help  of  these  brilliant  metaphors.  And  God  is 
said  to  have  His  abode  in  it,  and  to  be  the  light  thereof. 
Twice  it  is  declared  that  the  throne  of  God  is  in  it. 

We  are  not  left  in  doubt  as  to  the  reasons  why 
God  must  manifest  His  presence  in  the  church,  as  He 
does  nowhere  else  in  the  universe.  It  is  there  that 
His  glory  has  been  displayed — the  glory  of  Grace ! 
That  glory  can  be  seen  nowhere  else.  "The  glory  of 
God  doth  lighten  it."  That  glory  is  not  any  material 
effulo-ence.  It  is  a  moral  effulijence- the  beauty  of 
holiness  crowned  with  grace  — the  very  perfection  of 
glory,  that  some  mortals  have  no  conception  of.  The 
church  is  the  repository  of  the  grace  and  glory  of  God! 

It  was  to  this  end  that  He  expended  so  much  pains 
on  it  —  that  He  was  willing  to  die  for  it  —  that  He 
cleansed,  and  washed,  and  purified  it  even  with  His 
own  blood,  that  it  should  be  holy — a  pure  bride,  with- 


3l6  MOSES- AND    THE    FIlILOSOrilEKS. 

out  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  LliinL,^  This  Rridc 
was  prepared  b)-  Mini,  and  for  Ilini,  and  adorned  with 
o^race  and  olory  ! 

This  is  the  churcli.  And  tliis  is  the  rrracc  God  hath 
manifested  unto  the  cluirch.  It  was  in  His  eye  before 
anything  else,  even  from  everlasting.  It  was  the  church 
that  was  embraced  m  His  love,  m  that  eternal  purpose 
in  Christ  before  the  world  was.  And  this  diminutive 
earth  was  predestmed  as  the  theatre  to  carry  out  that 
purpose,  and  exhibit  that  love!  He  [)assed  by  the 
other  glorious  worlds,  and  chose  this  insignificant 
eardi.  Never  can  the  crratitude  of  the  church  find 
due  utterance,  in  words,  for  such  distincruishinnf  love. 
Then  let  a  silence  more  expressive  than  words,  ever 
speak  His  praise  in  the  depth  of  all  hearts! 

Glory  be  to  the  Father,  and  to  the  Son,  and  to  the 
Holy  Ghost,  as  it  was  in  the  beginning,  is  now,  and 
shall  be  evermore.     Amen. 

AN  INVOCATION. 

Thou  great  I  AM  !  Jehovah,  Jah,  alone  ! 

One  God  — tlie  Father,  Son,  and   Holy  Ghost; 

Tlioii  hcarest  prayer  — O,  hear  ihy  servant  now ! 

His  task  IS  done — the  work  thou  gavest  him, 

Is  finished — let  hini  heir  iliy  voice:  "Well  done!" 

\V;th  tear;,  and  toiling  long,  he  sowed  the  seed; 

Rejoicing,  lot  liim  have  a  harvest  liome ! 

Has  not  the  woik,  dear  Lord,  been  done  for  thee  ? 

And  in  thy  namr>,  nm\  at  thy  hidtling  ? 

And  now,  when  done,  thy  servant  iays  the  gift, 

A  free  will  offering,  at  Je:ius'  feel. 

As  long  ago.  He  made  tlie  living  cacnfice; 

It  is  not  much,  but  all  he  has  to  give  - 

The  mental  toil,  and  travail  of  his  life — 

O,  let  the  offering  accepted  he  ! 

O,  let  a  million  copies  circulate, 


AN    INVOCATION. 

In  al!  the  land,  and  also  other  lands, 

That  men  may  know  that  thou  art  God  alone! 

Thou  seest  how  they  take  thy  name  in  vain, 

And  how  they  trample  down  the  holy  law  ! 

How  they  pollute  the  Sabbaths  of  the  Lord  ! 

They  stick  out  their  lips,  and  vainly  say, 

Of  him  who  saw  thy  glory  in  the  Mount — 

Moses— sublimest  'mong  the  sons  of  men — 

That  he  knew  not  the  things  of  which  he  wrote ! 

O,  let  the  scales  fall  from  their  blinded  eyes  ! 

Let  knowledge  spread— let  truth  be  known  abroad ; 

Till  all  the  earth  shall  own  thee,  God  alone ! 

We  trust  the  promise  in  the  prophecy. 

That  all  shall  know  thee  in  the  latter  day; 

That  He,  styled  King  of  kings -///£•  Son  of  man. 

Shall  reign  from  sea  to  sea,  o'er  all  the  earth. 

This  is  our  joy,  now,  m  the  wilderness. 

Thou,  Mighty  Angel  of  the  Apocalypse, 

Ordained  to  preach  the  Everlasting  Gospel 

O  speed  thy  flight  through  heaven,  and  loud  proclaim, 
The  king(k)ms  of  the  world,  are  now  become 
The  kiiigd.uns  of  our  Lord,  and  of  His  Christ! 

Amen. 


317 


THE    END. 


